Aftermath
by Fraise Creme
Summary: [TLoZ Chapters]: Now that four years had passed since the sorcerer's first attack, Link had been living a normal life, and so is Zelda... until they meet a certain someone. Will this change Link's life forever? A story of humor, mild angst, friendship, and action.
1. Chapter 1: An Appointment

**Chapter 1: An Appointment**

"U-uh… wh-what time is it?" Link moaned as he lay on the bed, seeing the light seeping through his window. He rolled over to one side of his bed and pulled the blanket along with him.

"LIIIIIINK! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Yes, Grandpa. Right away."

He then sat up on his bed, looking to his left, then to his right. Everything was still a bit blurry, having opened his eyes after his deep slumber. He stretches up his arms and yawns. He takes a look at his clock by the bed.

"10:00? I was sleeping for THAT long? ..."

"…" Link closed his eyes for a moment. It seemed as though he was forgetting something, like there was something missing… _'Come on… it's at the back of my head…'_

He hit his head to try and bring back what he forgot… "AAAAHH! NOW I REMEMBER! I'M DEAD!"

Link went down the stairs, not caring if he almost stumbled down. It seemed as though a train was after him. He ran through the living room which was tad messy and then to his Grandpa Smith.

Smith looked at the haggard boy. It was obvious that he panicked since his shirt was put in such a hurry, not to mention his hair and one of his ears were tucked in his hat carelessly. His boots were not worn properly in such a way that the other boot is a bit folded. His belt was not fastened either.

_'Sigh, the poor boy. Lately, he's been oversleeping…'_ thought the sturdy old man.

Link and his grandfather settled down to eat. They had hot porridge for breakfast. It seemed like forever that he was just minding his business.

"Goodness, Link. I didn't know you had such a talent in eating! You could be a fire eater at this rate!" said Smith, laughing at Link's 30-second breakfast.

"Grampa, I gotta go! Zelda's gonna kill me!"

***

It was in a fair afternoon, after school was dismissed. Link and Zelda walked back to Hyrule Castle together. It was such a sweet moment, for Link was always the type to hang out with his other friends and Zelda was always fetched by her father though the school was near. But this time, Zelda must learn to walk home on her own. Link agreed to accompany her since they were childhood friends and all. Not only that, he doesn't want her to get hurt like all the other times she got kidnapped and got turned to stone.

"Say, Link?" Zelda stuttered as they were nearing the castle. It was majestic as it stood against the humbling sun. The fields all around were verdant, and the flowers were slowly taking their day's rest.

"Yes?" Link looked at her with such concern in his eyes. Zelda was slightly blushing when she turned to look at Link. There was a moment of silence between them, and the cherry petals of the surrounding trees were blown by the gentle wind.

"Link… thanks for taking me back home… I…" Zelda didn't know the words to say. _'Oh, no… I mustn't let him think that I have a crush on him…!'_

"It's OK. Nothing to it!" said Link. As Zelda went inside her palace, Link followed her with a gaze. Her blonde hair drifted along with the wind as she waved him farewell. Link nodded._ 'Haha, she's already learning how it is to be in the "real" world.'_

He passed by the store in town to buy some dinner for he and his grandfather since it was getting dark and they didn't shop for groceries the day before.

As he was on his way home, he noticed a figure just sitting on one of the three seats of the swingset in the town's playground. He was far from the playground; he was already near the town's front gate, and the playground was situated near the school which was near the far east entrance. He couldn't make out the face, but it seemed to be a young boy his age. It was getting late; why wasn't he worrying about going home? His parents may be worried sick for it was dangerous for young people to be hanging out alone. He wanted to talk with the boy, but it was getting late. He didn't want his grandfather to worry about him.

Upon arriving home, his grandfather told him that Zelda relayed a message to him. Zelda told him to meet up with her tomorrow morning at the castle because she needed to say something important.

It was when he fully recalled last day's events that he dashed outside for his appointment. Finally, a moment to meet up with Zelda and he screws it up. That was a bummer. He went through the town like a bolt of lightning. He even beat the mailman's daily run around town.

Without further ado, he arrived at the castle with Zelda just waiting by the fountain. She seemed to be engrossed looking at the rippling water.

"Princess…" Zelda looked at the figure before her. He was panting so hard and almost fell to the ground. Link smiled in spite of this. "Hello there! Sorry I'm late…"

"It's OK."

"So what did you want to tell me?"

Zelda looked at the water again. It was so calm and at the same time, disturbed by the active wave. She looked up at Link again.

"Link, we're going on a vacation starting tomorrow."

She looks a bit sad…

_'She doesn't seem to be taking this well…'_ thought Link as he looked at her sad eyes. He tried to think of some way to cheer her up. "Don't worry; I'm sure it'll be great! Imagine, seeing much more things than this everyday… um… town. Yeah, I'm sure it'll be great!"

Zelda didn't seem to light up in any way. He tried to cheer her up more, but…

"Link, you do know that only the royal guards will be left here, right?" That made sense, after all; it was only the king, the guards, and her residing in the castle. The only people she mingled with outside her home were her friends. Maybe that's what made her sad. Maybe it's because she'll miss all her friends…

The two decided to take a little stroll around town since all their things were packed up.

"I want to take a ride on that swing again, like we always did." said Zelda to Link. They both went to the playground. To their surprise, there were no kids in the playground.

"Oh, that's right! It's almost lunch time! Oh God, how late I woke up!" Link slapped his forehead in disbelief.

Upon going to the swingset, they noticed that there was a kid there. Just one kid hanging out in the playground. Just one kid, all alone.

_'The kid from yesterday…. no…. IT COULDN'T BE!'_ Link was frozen stiff from where he was standing and just stared at the lonely boy.

Upon closer look, he was really around their age. He was Hylian, but he would stand out from a crowd because he was unlike all the other kids. He had long, soft lavender hair that stopped mid-way his waist, pale purplish skin, crimson eyes and a matching scar. He wore purple garments and a cloak. He was just there… lonely. Silent. Harmless. But other thoughts occurred in Link's mind.

_'That guy… he's supposed to be under Ezlo's care now! He wasn't allowed to go out of his village!'_

"Let's get out of here." said Link as he tugged Zelda's arm.

"What? Why?" Zelda was obviously confused.

"I can't believe you! Don't you see that guy?" said Link in a whispery voice, referring to the stranger.

"Just because he looks different doesn't mean he's a bad guy!"

_'Oh, goodness! How forgetful can you be? He turned you to stone, for God's sake!'_

"Oh, whatever. If it will make you happy, let's just go to other places, then." said Zelda in disappointment.

_'I'm just trying to protect you here.'_ Link didn't say another word. He glared at the person sitting silently on one of the seats. The person looked nervous and shied away. _'Hmph, I just couldn't trust just anyone nowadays, especially that guy. Vaati… his name leaves a bad taste in my mouth…'_


	2. Chapter 2: The Rain

**Chapter 2: The Rain**

It was a Wednesday. The students did their daily activities in school. Some were attending Physics class, some were given lessons in English, and some were having Arts class. Link, being a freshman, was learning new things in Basics in Science.

_'Man, I hate this… I don't get the formula at all!'_ Link was at the back seat of the class, near the window. He oftentimes glanced outside and could see the elementary students either taking a break or going home with their parents or their guardians.

He felt that he wanted to go out more, and enjoy life. He is enjoying his high school life so far, with so many friends to hang out with, but he wanted to make an escape somehow… _'No, I can't skip classes. I'm not that smart to cope up with all my lessons. And, what would my Grandpa think of my grades? Guwaaah… I guess I need to put up with this…'_

As he was glancing outside, he spotted the playground again. This time it was filled with kids and their guardians. But there he was again- looking as lonely as ever. Link sensed something sinister just looking at him. He was there ever since… last week. That's right, last week. It was just last week that Zelda left for a whole month's vacation with her father. Whatever the weather was; windy, drizzly, sunny, cloudy… he stayed there in the playground.

It made Link so curious. _'What does he want?'_

Taking another look at the boy from afar, he sensed something… undefined. Now he doesn't know how he should feel for the loner.

At dismissal time, he decided to approach the lonely boy. As expected, the friendless boy was all alone in the playground, sitting on top of the monkey bars swaying his legs around. He was looking at something that seems so distant, so far away.

"Hey," a voice disturbed his contemplation.

He looked down to find a boy in green. The boy was smiling at him. Thought the boy in green, _'Well, no one seems to mind him, which is a big mystery. I'm gonna get to the bottom of this!'_

"Hi! Are you a new kid? Never seen you before in class! And classes just started this month!" said Link.

The boy just stared at him, and then looked away. Link noticed that his eyes were so… sad.

"Um, in that case…" he stretched his hand to the "stranger". "Link."

The boy stared at him, filled with curiosity. "I-I'm… I shouldn't really be talking to strangers…"

_'Strangers?! Strangers, my big fat…'_ Apparently, Link didn't want to take this as an answer from the lad. He tried to collect himself before speaking any further. "Don't worry, I won't bite!"

The boy looked at him from head to toe from where he was sitting.

"Aah.. m-my name is… I-It's Vaati…"he said with a demure voice. Then again, he looked away, covering his face with his soft, lavender hair.

"Oh, I see! Nice to meet you!" Link smiled at him. _'Stop pretending like you don't know me!'_

Despite this, Link decided to pretend that he doesn't know Vaati, just to go with the flow. He knew perfectly well what this guy did; from kidnapping Zelda to turning people to stone. He wasn't someone to be friends with and to mess around with.

"So, Vaati. I just noticed that you were… the lonely type."

"…" Vaati didn't even look at Link's eyes.

The boy in green climbed up the monkey bars and sat beside him. Vaati still didn't mind. "Don't worry, I'm here! Is someone already bullying you? I'll take care of them!"

Vaati didn't say a word but just looked at him with lonely eyes. His lips then let out a sigh.

"No…" Vaati said, not giving Link any eye contact. _'That wasn't it. That wasn't it, Link…'_ Vaati contemplated once more.

"Well, I understand you. After all, you're just a new student here, I mean; you're not even in uniform yet…."

"No, I'm not. I'm not a new student…"

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Just… enjoying the peacefulness…"

At this point, Link felt more and more inquisitive about Vaati's real reason for returning in Hyrule. There are numerous possibilities; and they don't seem to be very good either.

Link looked at the ground. A silent pause had befallen them. It was only then that Link broke the silence and looked at his wrist watch. "Golly, look at the time! Grampa's gonna be worried sick about me!"

He jumped down and turned to Vaati, who was still in the same position since he approached the loner. "I'll see you tomorrow, then! Bye!" Link got his bags and scampered off.

Now Vaati was left all alone. He looked at Link as the boy in green left the school grounds so happily… so worriless. _'You don't know just how lucky you are…'_

A tear drop fell from Vaati's visible eye.

***

"Grampa Smith! I'm HOME!" called out Link upon opening the front door. His voice echoed all throughout the house.

"Welcome back!" greeted Smith happily while forging Link's backup sword. "So, how was school today?"

"Oh, it was great!" Then Link recalled his talk with Vaati. He stared at the ground for a while.

"What's wrong?" The blacksmith just noticed his grandson's sudden pause. It was not like him to be serious all of a sudden; nothing really ever seems to bother Link, not even rescuing people often.

"Grandpa, do you remember that day… when Zelda was turned to stone?" said Link with a serious tone.

"Ah, you had a bad dream… that's ok, Link."

Link was astonished by this. _'He doesn't remember that guy?'_

"But yes, I remember that they had a serious problem before. That some bad guy tried to take over the castle?"

"Yes, that!" Link's eyes widened. "Do you know who that someone is?"

"What, is this for your assignment? Hmmm… well…" Smith thought for a second. "Nope, sorry, Link. I can't even remember his face. Sorry."

_'No way… so no one can really remember this guy? But how come?! Did he pull some kind of magic again?'_ "Uh, well thanks, Grampa." _'Thanks for giving me an excuse to use my computer.'_ "I guess I'll just check on the Internet, then."

So many thoughts about the mysterious Vaati encircled around his mind. He needs to know WHY the said wind mage is here. Not only that, he needs to know what to do just in case Vaati hasn't learned his lesson yet.

After opening his computer and it had set up completely, Link opened his YM account in his computer. He couldn't stand not having music while he was on the monitor, so he decided to open the Windows Media Player and listen to some songs.

"TheWindWakersDream: Hey, how are you?

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: heyy, been a while! ^w^

TheWindWakersDream: Haha, yeah. Been so busy lately!

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: yeah. it sucks. .

TheWindWakersDream: How's life?

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: isn't it sad? we're in the same school, in the same… identity, if that's what you call it, but we're not having contacts with each other. XP

TheWindWakersDream: Very sad. ;_;

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: well, i'm ok. i guess school's just warming up on me. how bout you?

TheWindWakersDream: Well, just ok. Ahh, I know this is a bit out of topic, but…

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: yes?

TheWindWakersDream: Um… do you know someone named Vaati?

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: … vaati.  
the weird kid who can't breathe?

TheWindWakersDream: What?

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: well his skin IS purple. XDD

TheWindWakersDream: I guess you could put it that way. XDDD

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: yep. i keep seeing him in school, too. but he doesn't seem to be attending his classes. he's not even in school uniform. B|

Link was astonished. He thought that he was the only person in the whole of Hyrule who can remember this scoundrel; but no, Dark can perfectly remember him. Just what is going on?

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: sorry i had to leave so soon, link. need to take a bath before going to sleep. ^^

TheWindWakersDream: Thanks for your time. Bye! 0:-)

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: lolz ~~ squiggly-squiggly-heart XDD

TheWindWakersDream: You sound like a fangirl. rofl

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: you? an ANGEL? in your dreams! you dreamer…

TheWindWakersDream: I AM the dream!

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: ahhahaha! I am teh stalker in your dreams! you are PWNED!one!eleven!two!

TheWindWakersDream: Oh, alright already! Goodnight~!

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04: sleep tight… if you can. 8D

TheWindWakersDream: Lol! :D

ShAdOwStAlKeR_04 has signed out.

At that, Link signed out as well. He surfed more in the Internet, searching for flash games, checking his accounts, downloaded some pictures and mp3's, and the like. He shut down the computer at who knows when. Then, after a long stay in the Internet (for a school day), he decided to sleep. It was a rainy, sleepy night for Link.

***

_'Nnhh…so early?'_

Link's alarm tone in his cell phone could be heard. It was "Underworld" from Kid Icarus, SSBB mix. Link rolled to his left, then to his right, until he almost fell from his bed. 'Five…more…minutes…'

Without opening his eyes, he pushed the button. He didn't realize that he didn't push the snooze button. Instead, he accidentally pushed the alarm stopper button.

It was only after an hour that Link woke up. The winds and the rain have gotten much stronger than yesterday. He looked at his cell phone's timer. _'WHAAAAT?! I'm gonna be considered "half-day" in school! Rats!'_

He was aiming to get a "perfect attendance award"; since that was the only award he was sure to get his hands on. But no, this time he was late for school!

He hastily ran down the stairs, almost tempted to grind along the staircase's rails. He found his grandfather working on some weapons.

He approached his grandfather. "Grandpa, why didn't you wake me up? I didn't know that I was snoozing off excessively!"

"Ah, Link my BOY! I thought you were awake all night so I thought you already knew the news!"

"The news?" Link stared at his grandfather full of curiosity.

"Yes. No classes due to heavy rain!" his grandfather seemed to feel Link's joy, although he knew that this was bad news in its very essence. A day free from school due to a typhoon.

"Seriously?" Link seemed to keep all his excitement inside.

"Will I ever kid you?"

Link was delighted. At last, a day off from school. Back to sleep!

Link decided to go back to sleep after talking with his grandfather a bit more about the news. A typhoon just struck the land and signal no.2 was raised in their area. It was an ideal weather to take a long sleep in your warm, cozy home. He slept for another hour before his body told him that he got all the sleep he needed.

_'Hmmm… how come is it that I feel like I'm forgetting something yet again?'_ While he was trying to recall what he was pondering about, his cell phone rung. He looked at it. Dark was calling him.

"Hello?" He said upon answering.

"Hey, Link! I see you heard the news." Dark seemed all relaxed.

"Yeah…" Link couldn't think of anything to say.

"What's the matter? You seem… ah, you just woke up from your second round of sleep, didn't you?"

"Uh-huh."

Link was getting onto something. _'Hmm… I also talked with Dark last night… and we were… a-ahh..'_ "THAT'S IT!"

"What?!" Apparently, Dark was so surprised by Link's sudden outburst on the phone.

"I'm sorry, Dark, but it's a long story. I'll call you back!"

Dark let out a small groan, probably pissed off that someone yelled in his ear on the phone. "Sure."

Link hung up the phone then immediately ran to his grandfather who was downstairs sipping a cup of hot chocolate listening to the news.

"Grandpa, you need to drive me to the playground right now!" Smith looked at him and wondered. Why would his grandson want to go out in a dangerous weather like this?

'Ah, kids these days…' He thought before he asked, "Why, Link?"

"Long story." Link looked outside and began to look really worried.

It was getting stronger by the minute, by the second, by the millisecond… Link just couldn't take it anymore and turned to his grandfather with firm yet pleading eyes. So, they went to the garage and got in the car. It was a simple, sturdy, family car that his grandfather bought first-hand. They drove outside and into the rain. The rain was so strong that almost nothing can be seen, even with the help of the windshield's wipers. Link looked outside the window anxiously, almost standing.

_'This is really weird… I shouldn't really worry about this… but… why…?'_ Link thought to himself with mixed feelings.

They arrived at the playground. Link grabbed an umbrella, a raincoat, and a flashlight and went outside. He searched the playground; he checked the slides, the monkey bars, the jungle gym, and the swingset. Then he spotted a maze-a parabolic maze where kids would hide in and pop their heads out of.

Link's imagination began to go wild. _'It's either that he's in there, or he's not here. The second option would be better, though…'_

Link approached the maze. He peeped inside a hole, but it was a bit dark and blurry to see anything. Then he remembered that he had a flashlight and turned it on. He looked inside much deeper, and then he saw what he was looking for.

The poor fellow was totally drenched, and was just forcing himself to sleep inside the "shelter" of the playground. His hair was scruffy due to the harsh rain and the winds. His bag of necessities was all he had with him, turning it into an improvised pillow. He felt his heart sink and without further ado, he carried Vaati in his arms and went to the vehicle as fast as he could.

Upon opening the vehicle's back door, he saw that Smith had just laid out a towel for Vaati to lie down on and to be wrapped with. Link decided to stay in the backseat for now, unlike before that he always stays in the passenger's seat.

"My goodness, that's what you meant…" exclaimed Smith as he drove off, looking at Link and Vaati from the rear view mirror.

Link looked at Vaati with worried eyes. It was very unlikely for him, but he felt so sorry that he wanted to cry for the poor youth. He recalled that the wind mage was very lonely lately and seemed harmless, unlike before. He seemed to have turned over a new leaf. He couldn't even sense that evilness in him anymore; instead he sensed a yearning for belongingness. What's even more painful is the fact that the poor lad stayed in the playground no matter the weather. That did it. Link shed a tear drop for Vaati.

They finally arrived home. Link and Smith helped each other carry the unconscious youngster. The elderly blacksmith agreed to take the drenched lad's bag, to wash all his belongings and to dry them.

Link decided to bring Vaati to his room and dress him up in his own house clothes. He made the youngster wear some sort of a nightgown, for free movement. He put Vaati's drenched clothes with the rest of the laundry that his Grandfather Smith had to wash in the washing machine.

He went back upstairs and saw Vaati sleeping soundly. This made him feel a bit delighted and a bit guilty at the same time. After all, Vaati was indeed a public enemy before, and now he's helping him! But then again, would a public enemy stay in the playground and retain an innocent look on his face?

_'I dunno, but that face, those eyes… they're not faking me…'_ Link thought to himself.

Later that afternoon…

_'Nnnh… unhh… i-it's warm…'_

Vaati woke up and saw the mint green ceiling above him. He squinted a bit, not being used to the color. He sat up and found himself on Link's bed, in his room. _'I-It's… someone's room…? It's… nice…'_

His eyes were filled with amazement as he had a good look at the room from the bed. The atmosphere was unaffected by the harsh typhoon, for it was as serene and orderly as ever; unlike all that he could see from outside the window beside the bed.

He stared outside the window.

_'It's a real mess… W-who could've saved me from such a harsh weather…? I… I could've died of pneumonia…'_ "Ahh…. Ah-CHOO!" Vaati then wiped his nose with his long sleeve. _'And I think I just got myself a symptom of that syndrome… No… don't get sick! You'll just get whoever let you in more trouble!'_

He hugged his pillow tighter as he felt a bit colder. He just can't get sick; he planned on leaving immediately as soon as the rain died down. But it seemed that this wasn't anytime soon…

The heavy rain and the strong winds intensified. Lightning struck and thunder growled with all its might. "AAAAAAAAAH!" cried the poor frightened boy as he covered himself with pillows and blankets in shock.

Link immediately ran upstairs to his room. He found a miserable sorcerer wrapped in blankets, shaking and whimpering.

"Vaati?" Link comforted him.

Vaati started to calm down, and slowly looked at Link. His eyes were full of fear and shock, from the loud thunder and his sudden stay in the hero's place.

"Shhhh… there, there, it's OK… we're here… we're not going to hurt you…" assured Link to Vaati.

He spoke very calmly and gently. He patted the frightened boy's back slowly and gently. At last, the panicked boy had calmed himself down.

"Feel better?"

At this, Vaati nodded. He looked at Link's eyes. _'They're… so peaceful… I wish I had those eyes…'_

"Rest. You'll need it. You might get sick from all that exposure under the rain, you know?" said Link with a slight chuckle to cheer Vaati up. The young wind mage nodded and went back to sleep. Link watched over the worn-out sorcerer as he slept.

_'Why is this happening…? Why is he so nice to someone like me…?'_


	3. Chapter 3: Sunshine after the Rain

Chapter 3: Sunshine after the Rain

When Vaati woke up, he didn't know what time it was. All he knew was that it was too dark to see anything. He felt that he was alone, and became tad frightened. The typhoon hadn't died down; it was as strong as ever.

While trying to hide his fear, he groped for the light's switch. He walked cautiously to the door which was emitting some light from its edges. Finally, the lights were turned on, and he felt slightly relieved.

He was curious about so many things. Where was he? Why was he here? Why was he well-taken care of? What do they plan to do with him once he's regained consciousness? All these circulated in his thoughts. Trying to be as cautious as possible, he leaned against the door and placed his right ear against it.

He heard noises outside. _'It must be them… but what are they talking about?'_

The voices were in a calm manner, like they were talking in a regular situation, with some laughs and giggles in between the conversation. 'Must I come out…? No… I don't even know them by heart…'

Vaati hesitated to come out of the room and decided to lie back down on the bed. 'What are they going to do with me?'

As the door opened, Vaati faced the opposite direction to pretend that he was still sleeping. He somehow wanted to thank them, but he was far too shy to do so.

"Aww, I guess he was stressed out a lot!" he heard a young boy's voice say.

"Well, he DID get drenched in the rain, I guess. I just hope that he doesn't get sick. The poor boy…" an older tone said.

He heard footsteps coming near him. Overlapping footsteps, those that could be heard from two people. He was getting nervous.

He saw a shadow cast upon him.

"Hey, I think he's awake!" blurted out Link who was directly above him. "Can you talk?"

"…"

Vaati sat up, looked around him and saw two people, Link and an older man. "T-thanks… f-for… for saving me…" he said in a whispery voice, and let out a shy grin.

"Aww, shucks! It was nothing!" Link rubbed the back of his head.

Smith took a good look at Vaati. He looked at the boy with much concern, and much caution. After all, he doesn't know the boy before him.

"Vaati, is it?" He said in a gentle tone. Vaati nodded and hugged his pillow. "Do you feel well, my boy? Don't you feel sick or anything?"

"No, sir. I'm perfectly fine."

Smith had a feeling he knew him, but just couldn't remember. He just COULDN'T remember.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that." Smith nodded to Link that he was going down and continue his business, and that he will be leaving Vaati in his care.

Link sat down at the foot of the bed and looked at Vaati, who looked like he was in a trance. The blonde tried waving his hand to catch his attention. It didn't work. He tried jumping on the bed, but that didn't work either. He looked at him from different angles, but still; it doesn't work. Vaati seems to be engrossed in something…

Link tried to think of a way to grab his attention, so he softly touched Vaati's silky hair.

"W-wow… after being drenched in the rain, you sure have nice maintenance of your hair…" Link said, his eyes widened.

That did the trick. Vaati looked at him. "… I know this is awkward but…"

"Yes?"

"….."

Vaati stared at his clothes, and then looked at Link. He thought of the safest words to say, being in a very awkward situation. He smelled his hair, and that's when he went in shock. It's… fragrant. Fragrant. After being exposed to harsh rain, mud, and wind… fragrant… that's when he scowled at Link.

"I feel…"

The hero looked at him and tried to get what he meant.

"I feel… unbelievably… CLEAN… after being drenched in the rain…" said Vaati awkwardly, blushing. Instinctively, he looked away from Link. Link got what he meant and blushed as well.

Feeling edgy, Link tried to explain his side. "Honest, I didn't mean to do things to you! It's just that we had to wash the rain water from you…" _'Oops…'_

"'We'?" stared Vaati in shock.

Now the young wind mage was imagining things: Link and Smith undressing him and giving him a bath like what moms and dads do to their babies, in a bathtub.

'_I feel so unclean!'_ he thought as the images occurred in his mind.

"No! You don't understand! I don't…" Link was at loss for words, he knew that Vaati was desecrated of his privacy. "Ok, let me just put it this way… if we didn't wash you, you'd definitely get sick, and my bed would be a mess, not that I care for my bed sheets…"

Vaati looked at him again, this time with mild eyes.

_'Way to go, Vaati. Way to be rude… just when someone really cares for you… or… do they really…? No… don't trust them so much…'_ He began to be ashamed of his previous actions. "T-thanks, anyway." He said sheepishly.

"Naw, I understand you! It's really ok! I guess I would react the same way." Link smiled at him.

_'A smile… it's a smile… a very kind smile…'_ the young wind mage can't seem to get over it and focused on Link's gentle and radiant smile.

"So, what do you want to do?" asked Link, despite the fact that he was already setting up the Wii.

He threw the Wii remote to Vaati, whose butterfingers didn't catch the remote, instead it fell on the bed just right in front of him.

"Would you prefer to use the Wii-nunchuk controls?" turned Link to the pale boy.

Vaati didn't understand, but he shook his head. Link went away from the game console and jumped on the foot of the bed, face down; looking at the screen with a Wii remote in his hands.

"Game! Come on, Vaati! Choose your character!" Link chose himself, Toon Link, with the original swatch. Vaati took his time, but soon after chose Pit as a black angel. They chose to fight in Yoshi's Island. Link taught Vaati how to use his character.

He taught him the basics: The directional buttons to move left and right as well as jump, double-jump and crouch, 1 to attack, 2 for special, A for taunt, B for guard, B+1 to grab. For recovery, hold up+2. At that, they were all ready for the real brawl. It was a stock fight with 5 lives each.

As expected, Link sent Pit flying without his wings' help a lot of times.

"Aah! That was unfair!" exclaimed Vaati, who was getting absorbed in the game. Link was happy to hear this, knowing that Vaati was enjoying himself. They played a lot of rounds before Smith finally called for dinner.

"Aww, it's dinner time!" said Link.

The absorbed wind mage turned to the young hero with a quizzical look. "Dinner time?"

"Yep, dinner time… I wonder what's for dinner…" said Link rubbing his chin with his left hand, looking upwards.

Then, without hesitating, the blonde immediately grabbed the lavender-haired boy by the wrist. Vaati became so surprised by the hero's sudden actions and the more when he dashed outside the door tugging him behind.

***

They both arrived at the dinner table, and Link excitedly sat after pushing Vaati to the chair beside him. The wind mage was quite puzzled by the hero's behavior for he really seemed out of control.

"I must tell you," turned Link to Vaati after putting on his bib, "Grandpa Smith is the best cook in the world!"

Link was so excited that he started making noises on the table with his utensils. Vaati stayed still and waited for Smith patiently.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." said Smith holding a plate full of dinner. "And sorry spaghetti's all I coo—"

"YAY! LOTSA SPAGHETTI!" said Link as he practically lunged at the dinner plate upon landing on the table.

But, Link hesitated at that instant. He remembered that Vaati was with them, more importantly that the poor boy was probably poorly fed-or worse. Link went back to his seat and offered Vaati the first serving of spaghetti.

"W-wha…? No. It's okay, really…" blushed Vaati.

"No. You need to eat, 'mah boi'." Link said as he smiled at the wind mage.

That smile made Vaati blush even more, he was really embarrassed, but what could he do? The hero was really firm about his word, and he simply couldn't seem to refuse the offer whatever he tried to do.

"Okay…" Vaati hesitantly got the serving fork and got just a little.

"No. You must get more!" said the eager blonde, getting the serving fork from the visitor. He scooped more, and more, until Vaati's plate held enough serving for three persons.

"Uhh…" Vaati looked at his plate quite weirded out by Link.

"Link." said Smith with a dignified tone.

"Guwaah! Sorry!"

"Please excuse my grandson. That's how much he eats every meal, it's a wonder he never gets fat."

"It's just a matter of saving the world, Grandpa!" defended Link as he got his share.

Now the wind mage was silent all throughout and seemed to be preoccupied in eating.

'Saving the world… i-it sounds nice…' he thought to himself.

"Hey, after this, let's play some more, Vaati!" said Link with an unclear manner, his mouth still full of spaghetti.

"U-uh… sure…" He seemed a bit too bashful about it. 'Seriously? H-he wants to play… with someone like me…?'

Vaati continued to eat silently. Smith was very pleased to see the two, and rather amused by their huge contrast in personality. Here was Vaati, a fine young teen with admirable manners (especially eating) and here is Link, a peppy teenager with his gluttony to the highest level, eating his head off. Nonetheless, he took delight seeing Link like this for his grandson really showed his total appreciation to whatever he does.

"Alright, Link. I'll wash the dishes tonight. You have to stay with Vaati, okay?" said Smith as he took out the dishes from the table.

"Thanks, Grampa! Well, Vaati? Let's go!" The two rushed excitedly to the stairs when suddenly, all the lights went out.

The young sorcerer screamed a little because due to shock. The young hero comforted him, continued going up the stairs, and tried to find a flashlight in his room. He finally found one and called out Vaati's name as he went downstairs. Apparently, Smith also found a lamp as his light source and comforted the poor boy.

"Well, that sucks." said Link after settling and after Vaati calmed down. "Now what do we do?"

Link was apparently disappointed and bored. The rain hasn't stopped; instead it grew stronger, as well as the winds. He was tempted to tell Vaati to order the winds to stop, but that would just blow his cover now, won't it?

"This could be a super typhoon or something," said Smith as he looked outside from his seat near the centerpiece of the living room. The demure wind mage was lying down on the sofa while the peppy young swordsman sat at the opposite end near his feet.

"I think I got it!" Link had a brilliant idea coming onto him, but just what was he thinking?

Vaati felt a bit uneasy just looking at Link's smile… it wasn't a sweet one like the usual. It was just… unnerving. Link looked at Vaati, still with that smile fixed on his face.

"How's about…" Link stood up and reached for the bookshelves and picked out a certain book. "…Grampa, could you read us a bedtime story?" he said sweetly, but almost noticeably fake.

He pulled out the book "True Hylian Ghost Stories", a Hylian version of a famous book of another country.

Vaati grew scared as Link opened the book. He knew it wasn't good news for him. Smith excused himself for a while. He said that he needed to go to the washroom. The excited blonde then turned the book to a certain page and started narrating the story with feelings, and even added some extra lines not included in the story:

"Once there was a little boy who was so curious about everything. And when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. He was so stubborn that he wouldn't stop until he gets what he wants, and one day… he did get what he wanted.

It was a dark, rainy night like this! Yes, like this! And he decided to peer outside the window. He wondered why it always rains. He wanted answers, and he WILL get them, no matter what. As he was going to find out, he came across an antique mirror in their house…"

At that, strange noises could be heard from the kitchen.

"W-w-what was that?" said Vaati, curling himself up to a ball in the corner of the sofa. Link remained standing across the centerpiece table and looked where the sound seemed to come from. He continued:

"There was the majestic figure of the antique mirror. So beautiful, though it showed signs of getting worn out due to time. But still, it was that. It was beautiful. He was enchanted. Yes, very enchanted in fact, that he didn't care about anything else…"

Strange noises continued to moan. Vaati was terribly scared, and not having a blanket to cover himself with, he decided to run to Link and hug him.

"Please, Link! I-I'm scared… make it stop!" the blonde was smiling evilly upon seeing the shorter youth so shaken up. Again he resumed with the story:

"Without noticing, he saw a black figure in the mirror. He thought it was just a shadow, but no. How could a shadow be there in a place full of light? Ha-ha-ha!" Link laughed hysterically enough to scare Vaati and make the scared youth release him.

"It was all so fast… the shadow grabbed the poor boy from inside the mirror. He struggled, but what could the boy do? No, he was helpless… he was sucked in the mirror world, and no one ever heard of him… AGAIN!"

That was enough to make the poor young wind mage cry again. The noises continued, and Vaati felt something cold grab him from behind.

"NOOOO! PLEASE! LINK, HEEEEEELP!"

He struggled as much as he could, but the grip was strong. He could feel being pulled by the figure. But after a while of whining while getting pulled, he heard that the figure was chuckling.

Gathering up all courage, he turned his head to see who this figure really was. It was Grampa Smith, smiling at him happily and gently.

"Shook you up there huh, my boy?"

Vaati was in a pause for a while. "W-why did you do this to me…?" Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Aww, there, there, Vaati…" Smith embraced him and patted his head. He assured that everything was a joke, and that everything was all rig-

"GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAH!"

It was a fearful scream, but just who was that?

"I-it sounds like… oh no… LINK!" cried Vaati, turning to the direction from where the scream came from. His ears twitched and curiously looked left to right, front to back. Link was nowhere to be found. And that everything was dark with only some light emanating from the lamp on the center table and some light from the Link's flashlight that was left made it harder for him to see.

He cried out Link's name again, this time with more determination and courage in his tone. For a while there was no response, but then a pale and sweaty Link came rushing to the living room from the kitchen.

"S-s-something black g-g-g-got me… f-f-from…" the young blonde trembled so hard that he couldn't say another word. Vaati was too scared to even approach him, but Smith immediately settled Link on the sofa.

"I'll just get some water." The middle-aged man rushed for the fridge. The lavender-haired boy looked down on the blonde youth and knelt before the sofa where he laid.

Vaati squinted his eyes with much concern. He tried calming Link down, ruffling his hair a bit. Smith had just come on time, handling a glass of water and assisting Link to drink. Link felt a bit better and was able to tell them what happened. Someone pulled him from the window, and from what he can remember, all he saw was black… with red eyes. This scared the heck out of them, and decided to call it a night. Smith decided that all three would sleep in his room. Smith lies on his bed, and let the other two share the spare bed just beside his.

The two snuggled themselves under the blanket and weren't able to get enough sleep.

"That was a bad idea, Link…" whispered Vaati while lying down.

"I know." whispered Link back. "But I couldn't help it. It was a force of habit."

"A force of habit?"

"Yes."

"Well, whatever that was, I hope it doesn't get us." Vaati looked so insecure and scared.

Link, as scared as he was due to the incident, still managed to be brave.

"Don't worry…" he assured the scared boy.

It was cold, and so Link decided to embrace Vaati. Not to mention, it was indeed a scary night for all of them, so hugging was kind of like the best option; no matter how awkward it may seem.

***

Night soon turned to day…

Link slowly opened his eyes. He was lying by his right side but tried to look at everything he can lay his eyes on without moving. He turned his eyes to the person beside him. Vaati was still sleeping soundly, lying by his left side. He was happy to see that the long-haired wind mage seems to be doing well.

_'No more rain… just… sun…'_ Link thought as he felt the warm rays touch his face. 'It feels so nice.'

Vaati's ears twitched and his hands began to softly clutch the pillow where both his head and hands were resting. He opened his eyes, but squinted at the sudden gush of light from the window. His eyes were drawn to Link who was just watching him. The two exchanged glances until Link decided to break the silence.

"Good morning," Link greeted Vaati.

"Good morning…" he greeted back. Both were so enchanted by the warmth of the sun that they wanted to sleep again, but…

"OHMIGOSH!" Link suddenly sprang out of his bed and rushed through the door, leaving Vaati behind.

The young wind mage was left clueless of what just went through the young hero's mind. He followed Link but in an unhurried manner. He found himself downstairs, where Link was dressing up and eating oatmeal at the same time.

"Wow… Link… really has a talent there…" Vaati thought to himself and softly chuckled at what Link was doing. It really was a funny sight for the young boy.

"I'm off, Grampa!" Link rushed off to the front door, still trying to put one of his boots on.

He finally arrived outside, but then… "There's something… wrong…"

He checked himself. He was wearing his usual green tunic, his trademark hat, his boots, his belt… he even has his sword and his shield ready… so what was it that he forgot?

"Um, Link." called Vaati out from the front door.

His eyes widened with realization. "That's it! YOU'RE missing! Wanna come with me?"

Vaati nodded, but still giggled at Link.

"What?"

"L-Link… I…" He stared at Link one more time. "D-do you ever wonder why…" Vaati's face reddened as he held his laugh.

"What?"


	4. Chapter 4: New Friendship?

Chapter 4: New Friendship?

Vaati couldn't take it anymore, he was getting red all over from keeping his laughter. "Link… you didn't forget to wear underwear, did you?"

"OF COURSE NOT!" Link defended, his tone almost annoyed.

Of course he couldn't forget wearing underwear, because that'd be stupid. Of course he wore everything he needed because forgetting an important article of clothing would be stupid as we- Oh.

Link looked down and what he saw made his face red. He turned to look at Vaati and saw that Vaati held what he was looking for.

"I can't believe you forgot to wear pants… good thing you're wearing a…" Vaati giggled again. He continued, "… a long shirt…"

Link knew what Vaati hesitated to say, 'a dress', but he let it go. After all, seeing him laugh was enough to lighten up his day.

Link approached Vaati with a smile and grabbed his tights from him. He took off his boots, quickly wore the tights, and then wore the boots again. He turned to the youngster and offered him his left hand.

"What?" Vaati blushed a bit. He didn't know what Link meant.

"Come," Link answered him. "Don't you want to come with me to the palace?"

_'Of course you would, wouldn't you, my dear Vaati?'_ Those evil thoughts came crossing Link's head again. He could not forget that this seemingly sweet person in front of him had done a very terrible thing to everyone-and yet it's as if no one was even bothered that he's here. In fact, as far as the villagers are concerned, Vaati didn't exist.

"Ummm…." Vaati seemed unsettled. He couldn't even look at Link's eyes.

"It's okay," Link assured him. "No one will hurt you." _'Of course not, because YOU'LL hurt us._' "We're just going to the palace for a little visit, and really, I need to see if the palace is okay. Zelda entrusted me to take care of it."_ 'And she trusts me well, so if you start doing anything funny, which I know you would, I'm so ready!'_

"Well? You coming or not?" Link seemed more insistent.

The young sorcerer didn't want to go, but he can't refuse the offer. It's as if Link commanded him to do it; though in a very friendly way.

He took a deep breath before he said, "Sure."

At that, Vaati and Link set out to go to Hyrule Castle.

"Goodbye, Grampa!" waved Link to Smith, who was already far away from him and Vaati.

Vaati also smiled sweetly and waved at the man who took good care of them both the previous night.

"Goodbye, Link, Vaati! Take care!" waved back Smith to the two.

"We will!" answered Link.

Before they could go to the castle, they had to pass by the village first-that is, the village had turned into a small city two years after the incident. The city had grown four times bigger than its normal range. It was a fast change and Vaati seems to be taking it well. Upon entering the main entrance, he could see many fast-food chains lined up, and that there were a lot of stores with different goods. To his left were mainly residential houses, with some business markets around. He could also see the town's main mall, of which was packed with everything. The village did indeed change over such a short time, but it was a good change for them.

Although, some things never really change. Link met a running man carrying a sack of mails on his back, waiting to be delivered. He smiled at the hero and said, "Good morning, Link!"

"Morning, Mr. Mailman!" he greeted back politely.

The mailman's attention was caught by Vaati who was clinging onto Link's arm, looking as shy as ever.

The mailman stared at him with curiosity. "Hello, who are you?"

Vaati did not reply, and instead of greeting the man, he hid behind Link like a scared rabbit and peeped shyly from Link's back.

"Uh, this is Vaati. Sorry, he's not used speaking with strangers." explained Link "But he really is a nice kid. He's just shy, that's all."

"Oh, I see." The mailman eyed Vaati, and the more the shy youth hid behind Link, blushing. "Well, Link. I gotta go! Many letters to deliver, you see! Bye, Vaati!"

The mailman sped away carrying his bag of letters which never seemed to lessen its load.

Link comforted the shy wind mage. "It's just the mailman, Vaati. Don't worry. You can adapt to this place, I'm sure of it." _'You have to, because you'll have to take over it sooner or later, right? Oh, Vaati… I just don't understand you… have you really changed or are you pulling my leg?'_ "Well, let's go to the palace." 'So that I'll know if you really have changed or not…'

The boys carried on with their trip to the palace.

The palace loomed overhead as they approached the entrance. Vaati stared in awe, as if he never saw anything like it.

"What's the matter?" Link asked the astonished boy. The speechless boy carefully shook his head.

"I-I…. B-Back where I came from… Th-there was nothing like this… This place… I-it's huge…" Vaati silently said, still not taking his eyes off the magnificent structure.

"Back where you came from?" That statement has piqued Link's curiosity.

He began to worry, but tried to keep it all in. _'Oh, no. You did it Vaati. Now you got him curious. Oh, you stupid boy!'_ "U-um… I mean, I came from a foreign town…" _'Oh, you loudmouth! Now he'll wonder what town you came from!'_ "Ahh… I came from somewhere far from here… It's just that I don't do very well with the people back there…" _'DARN! Now you really blew it!'_ Vaati looked at the ground slapped his forehead.

"Are they that mean to you?" asked the worried Link. "You know, I can teach them a lesson! It's my specialty! They shouldn't be picking on you like that!" he said angrily.

This time, Link didn't know what he was saying. He really felt that Vaati had a rough past, and that he really seemed to have changed. But of course, denials about the youth's past can be easily said, even if the truth is contrary.

_'No. That's not enough proof that he changed. Think about it, Link. He turned the whole town into stone before! You shouldn't trust him just like that! He has more "tests" to overcome before you can really say that he's a harmless little boy. For now, he's just a "seemingly" harmless little boy.'_

The two looked at the majestic castle, took a deep breath, and went right in.

The guards allowed Link to enter, but stopped Vaati from entering. They blocked his path with their spears and asked him firmly.

"Who might you be, little boy? Haven't seen you around before." said one of the two guards. The lavender haired boy trembled and looked at them.

"Well, this is Vaati…" Link stopped and guarded Vaati and waited to see their reactions.

"Oh, so you have a new friend!" said the shorter, younger guard.

He smiled at Vaati with kind eyes and reached his hand for him. The youth flinched and hid behind Link, somewhat scared and eased by the feeling that the hero is there for him. 'Could I really trust these people… the way they trust me?'

"Well, we're going our way!" waved Link at the two guards as the boys entered the palace entrance.

"Have fun, boys!" said the younger guard.

"And don't even try anything funny!" said the senior guard.

Vaati remained behind Link until they got all the way in. "Relax… it's okay now. We've got the place all to ourselves." he assured his companion.

They were only in the lobby, but Vaati was already filled with so much awe and joy that he couldn't utter a word about anything.

_'It's beautiful…it's magnificent and wonderful and… no… it's way beyond words…I wish I lived in a place like this…'_ Those occurred in his mind as Link navigated all throughout the palace.

The boys went to all the rooms in the magnificent structure, from the lobby to the rooftop. There in the palace, they had fun watching the maidservants take care of the cuccos. Link even asked Vaati to play the cuccos with him. Boys will be boys, and they chased the cuccos until they dropped, which was fascinating in Vaati's point of view.

_'Amazing,'_ he thought, _'I didn't know that cuccos had this much strength even in my Hylian form! I thought that they only seemed to be so durable and strong since I was a Minish…'_

Then, they also decided to play with Zelda's stuff and even dressing up in her wardrobes!

"Well, how do I look?" said Link as he stepped out of the dressing room.

It was a cubicle covered with nothing but a lush curtain of silk with a hue of carnation. He was quite the model as he pushed the curtains out of his way with elegance and nobly stepped out of the cubicle. He wore Zelda's pink dress that wasn't supposed to be worn until her sixteenth birthday, where she will be a full-pledged princess. It was backless, laced with many decorations and golden jewelry. He wore it with matching pink high-heeled feminine shoes, although it goes well along with her high-heeled brown boots.

"N-not bad…" blushed Vaati, who was already in a frilly black maid's dress with simple black women's shoes.

Strangely, yes. Zelda also kept some costumes herself.

"Just keeping a collection of wardrobes composed purely of princess gowns is BO-RING!" was what she told Link during one of his visits before the "incident" with the Minish.

Eventually, they got bored with cross-dressing so they decided to check all the other guest rooms and even the guard's rooms after dressing up in their normal clothes.

The guards stayed in one big room, much like a dormitory. It was a vast, simple yet cozy room that can hold up to 24 people in it. Twelve beds were on each side of the room from where the isle and entrance were. Since everyone was out on duty (or out in town doing who-knows-what), they got a crazy idea that formulated in their little heads. Vaati helped Link push all the beds together to form a straight row across the room.

"It's the Rolling Olympics!" Link eagerly said as he plunged into the farthest end of the beds, rolling like a log until he reached the other side at the last bed. The Hylian-Minish giggled and followed the Hylian hero by rolling on the row of beds as well.

Both of the boys found themselves dizzy after some rounds of the Rolling Olympics, so they decided to check out the treasury. It was filled with all the magnificent riches one could possess. The room glittered with gold and silver, and all the precious stones from diamond to ruby and the like glistened with all their brilliant glory.

However, there was this one artifact that caught both of the boys' eyes. The blond approached to see what it was… he was a bit astonished at what he saw.

It was a mirror. A gold-plated mirror, elegantly designed with precious gems, this was considered to be an antique. An antique.

Link could not put his finger on it, but he swore something was up with the majestic, peculiar mirror that stood at the corner of the room opposite the side of which the exit of the room stood. They both stared into it, for it seemed to mesmerize the both of them. It was full of beauty, full of elegance and grace, full of mystery…

It was when they were absorbed by its beauty that Link felt that everything felt so strange…

"… I gotta know where this mirror came from… stay here, Vaati. I'll ask the guards what the deal is with this mirror." At that, the boy clad in green ran out the exit, leaving Vaati all alone in the treasury.

"It's okay, Vaati… don't get nervous… Link told you that everything's gonna be okay…" Vaati tried to convince himself and shook his head to get his mind more focused.

He wandered around the room some more, but Link hasn't returned yet even after some time. He began to get worried and scared. It was then that his eyes got caught by the magnificent mirror again. He slowly inched towards it with mixed feelings. He felt afraid, but he just needed to satisfy his curiosity. As he got very close to it, he just stared into it like it had an extra dimension in it, like he was getting sucked in. But the feeling as he was near it, it's… fine.

Walking footsteps, they were nearing the door. As far as his sense of hearing can tell, they were just a few meters away from the entrance of the room. As he turned to look at the door, excited for Link's return…

"AAAAAH! Li-"

The young Hylian-Minish was sucked into the mirror! Two hands grabbed him; one holding his body and the other covering his mouth.

The door burst open. It was Link barging in upon hearing Vaati's muffled screams for help. He looked left and right, and then proceeded right inside.

"Vaati? VAATI! Vaati, where are you?! This is not funny!" He called out to his Minish friend.

Panic arose in his throat as he realized that his friend was nowhere to be seen.

"VAATIIIII!" He shouted once more with a lot more determination.

But there was no response. It was then that the majestic mirror caught his eyes. Dusty with age, but still stood out with its distant traces of beauty.

_'The mirror…'_ The boy approached the mirror full of curiosity._ 'Something is really… familiar with this mirror…'_

He touched the mirror and slid his fingers across its fine, dusty glass. It was very smooth and friendly to the touch, but it was… cold.

"!" Link without more ado backed away from the mirror. Now he knows what was wrong… he remembered that ghost story of which he told Vaati just last night before they went to bed. He remembered that night they spent with no electricity. He remembered… that someone attempted to grab him from the other side of the mirror!

Just as he tried to go and seek help, he heard noises… strange noises. But this time, it wasn't his grandfather. No… it sounded authentic… and it sounded like it was coming from the mirror! He stared in horror as he saw a figure just standing there. He realized that there was a familiar face… it was his Minish friend pleading for help! All he could do was stand frozen in fear for all these mystifying things happening to him and his friend.

Almost in an instant, he saw his friend break through the mirror. The mirror remained intact, but Vaati was finally free. The crying Hylian-Minish immediately ran behind Link quivering in fear. "I… I thought you'd never come back… I thought you'd leave me… I thought I'd be stuck there… forever…"

Tears started to roll down his cheeks very rapidly. Link courageously looked at the mirror again. It was filled with a mysterious fog… a mysterious black fog.

"Link, let's get out of here!" cried Vaati, but Link stayed glued to his feet.

The panicking youth wanted to run away, but he could not leave Link for two reasons: first, Link is his only friend he has now, and second, he's too scared to be left alone. A figure appeared in the black fog. It was just a silhouette, so they couldn't quite recognize who it was until…

"Finally…" spoke the silhouette.

When the fog had cleared up, what Link saw brought shock and relief to him.

"Oh…" uttered Link with a sigh of relief, smiling.

"I can't believe you! How dare you hung up on me yesterday and never called back! I was waiting for you so we could play online!" shouted the boy.

It was a boy with black garments from head to toe: a black cap, a black tunic, complemented with white undergarments and brown boots. His eyes were as crimson as ruby, and his hair was as black as the clear night sky. He had pale, shadowy skin. His eyes were focused on Link as he spoke with utter disbelief.

"Sor-ee, I just had to attend to an important schedule! Besides, there was a blackout during the night, so we can't play either way! And it's way too risky and stupid to play online while there were all sorts of happenings outside!" defended Link.

The boy in black then focused his eyes on Vaati. "So you were the REAL reason why Link never called me back…"

The poor Minish grew scared as Dark glared at him.

"Hey, I never said THAT!" shouted Link.

"Hmph. But I'm pretty sure that's what really happened."

Vaati gave Link a quizzical look. "You… know this guy?"

Link looked at the newcomer and then looked at Vaati again, and nodded. "Yep, this here's… wait. Do you mind introducing yourself?" He addressed to the stranger.

"Pffft. Can't you even introduce your alter-ego? Fine…"

The boy approached Vaati. "My name's Link. But that would be confusing; so many people fondly call me Dark. Short for "Dark Link". Nice to meet you… er…" he said as he stretched out his hand to shake hands with the shy boy.

"Vaati…"

"Vaati, eh? Well, do you remember me, Vaati?"

Vaati's expression let out a certain "What?" and Dark began to get annoyed.

"You do remember me, right?" insisted Dark.

Vaati backed away a bit from the dark youngster as he inched his way towards the lavender-haired youth.

"No… this is the first time you've met. You must've mistaken him for someone else!" Link tried to change the subject.

"What are you talking about? Ow!" Link hit Dark's head quite hardly. The black-haired boy moaned. "Okay, okay… I get it."

Dark's pale lips let out an exasperated sigh. He lifted his ruby eyes to stare into Vaati's. "So, what do you guys suppose we do? Go hide and seek in the palace?"

"Wait, wait, wait…" said Link, cutting off the idea. He went in front of Dark and stared him in the eye. "You still have some explaining to do…" Link raised his brow upon saying this.

"Hurr…" Dark made an irritated face. "Fine."

The youngsters decided to find a place where they could stay and share their stories privately. They finally settled themselves under a tree in the front yard of the castle. There, it was peaceful and undisturbed by other people. What more could you want?

Dark started to narrate his story. "So… it's like this…"

"Because you hung up on me yesterday, I decided to do other stuff while waiting for your call. Sadly, you forgot… so I tried to entertain myself since I was so totally bored. Let's see, I tried drawing stuff, going to the internet, playing around with your voodoo dolls…"

"Voodoo dolls?" said the shocked Link.

"Yeah, but they don't work… I never see the effects." said Dark with a smirk. "Anyways… I was so bored and I was all alone in my house as usual. That's about it."

He paused for a while and then his eyes gleamed. "But guys, I stumbled upon the coolest thing in my house. You want me to show it to you?"

Link and Vaati exchanged glances. They both nodded at this, and the group made their way to Dark's house.

They finally arrived. The house was a simple bungalow, it wasn't anything like a mansion, but it seemed a comfortable place to stay in. The house had a small front yard with a lawn, and everything seemed to be plain and simple in his usual dark color scheme. "Welcome to my humble home."

The three entered his house as Dark led their way into his room in the second floor. Link sat on the floor as he gave way to let Vaati sit on the bed. The young dark-haired boy searched his closet for quite a while… then he grunted. He found what he was looking for, and it was something as tall as they were, as wide as two people, and as thin as a picture frame all covered under a large sheet of dirty white cloth.

Dark then unraveled the sheets to reveal…

… A mirror… A beautifully adorned mirror…

"D-Dark… you didn't…" said Link with a lot of worry etched on his face.

"Relax… he's here now… no one'll threaten me… and look at me, I'm safe and sound! See?" Dark assured Link that he was okay and even proved it by saying that he's still standing soundly from where they were.

Vaati became a bit curious about it, but he dared not utter a word. 'They might hate me if I poke in their lives around too much…'

"Enough about that..." Link shook his head and pushed the mirror back in the door closet. "Let's play something… as in…" Link pointed at the Wii.

"OF course!" Dark bolted to the game console to set it up, and the boys enjoyed their whole day playing with the thing…

As they were playing, their bond strengthened, even for just a bit for Vaati's part.

"Hey," said Dark. "I heard that we were going to have a sem break next week."

"Yep. Grandpa's leaving me and Vaati alone for four days in the next week because he had to attend to a meeting. It appears that the shoemakers have annual fairs, and it happened to land on our sem break."

"AWESOME! I'll drop by your house then!" said Dark with incomparable excitement. "IT'LL BE AWESOME, LINK! WE'LL HAVE SO MUCH FUN! You don't know how fun it'll be! We'll make the great escape!"

"… The great… escape…?" Vaati could not help but ask.

Link clarified, "Nah, he's just so find of listening to rock music every now and then. He just means we're really gonna enjoy our sem break next week, as in a guys' night out."

"Sem break…?"

"Er… semester break. You know, a break from school after a semester or in mid-school season…" explained Link.

"Get yourselves ready, guys… next week will be fun…" said Dark in such a happy manner.


	5. Chapter 5: Secrets

**Chapter 5: Secrets**

"So, are you up for it tomorrow? Hm-hmmm…"

"Of course. Let the sem break begin!"

As the clock approaches 12 midnight, a voice can be heard talking to someone absent. As Vaati slept during the night, Link can be heard talking over the wireless phone. They both stayed in one room; Link's room, just to be safe since Smith is not around to tend to them. Being boys of mere fourteen years, they must stay safe… even if both of them had the first-hand experience of real danger, danger more than any adult in their area even faced.

"So… about… about Vaati…" Link awkwardly said as he turned to look at Vaati, just ensuring that he wouldn't hear their conversation.

"I'd… better move on to another room…" he whispered to the phone.

"Hmph. Sure." It was Dark on the other line.

Link carefully tiptoed to the door and silently opened it. It let out a creak, which made him cringe that Vaati may wake up, but to his advantage, the young Hylian-Minish was sound asleep and even rolled like a log on Link's bed. That made Link smile, in delight, and in relief.

"So…" Link made his way to the guest room. "About Vaati… it's just strange…" He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Strange? What? That that guy just suddenly popped out like a mushroom of where he dwells?" replied Dark.

"No! Well, that's one, but that's not my point. It's just…"

"Spit it out already!"

"Okay, okay!" Link contemplated on the words he was to say. Now, just how to tell the whole truth to Dark without sounding crazy? Let's see…

"You see, it's like this. I think that the whole town has forgotten about him except for the two of us."

There was a pause. Link thought that he made a stupid move talking about the matter. Nevertheless, he just knew that he had to trust Dark on this.

"Zelda doesn't recognize him although they met in person before, to think that Vaati… you know… and then the villagers and even grandpa doesn't remember him at all. He didn't hesitate when I told him that he was staying in our house. As a matter of fact… he really felt sorry for him and accepted him full-heartedly! I'm not kidding here!"

The long pause had resumed once more. The winds can clearly be heard howling outside due to the awkward stillness.

Link broke the silence by letting out a sigh. "Listen, I know I really sound crazy… I mean, what the heck…" Link let out a sheepish smile and gave himself a face palm, feeling so embarrassed at what he just said.

"Don't worry, you don't sound crazy." Dark said, this time with a stern voice. Link hasn't heard Dark sound so serious in a long time. "I perfectly understand what you mean."

Actually, Dark always sounded so happy with himself. That was how Link liked Dark, even if he was the dark self of the hero who did a lot of bad things in the past. Link admired him for being so happy despite his past and all the things that come up about him. Not only that, but he appears to be very smart despite being such a joker. He's one of those people with those "hidden potentials".

Being the dark ego, many people would surely talk about him behind his back, and Link would always tell that to him. But then, Dark would just say, "Pfft. Forget them. The heck should I care about what they say? All I know is that I'm NOT doing anything wrong again, and I have you as my real friend."

People mostly talk about how stubborn and anti-social the shadowy youngster was, but Dark never seemed to mind. He always thought of it as something to know and improve from. That's what Link really admired from him.

"Huh. Thanks." said Link, in relief. "It's good to know that you understand."

"Actually, that's what I also thought. I also thought that it was way too crazy, so I gave it a second thought but… that was the only thing I could think of about this matter."

"Hmmmm…Well…"

"Yes?"

"Er… I don't feel so good about this… talking about Vaati behind his back…"

"I can relate," chuckled Dark. "But this is a totally different matter. We're talking about him in a way that makes a lot of sense. Not like those… hehehe, they're just talking nonsense." Dark sounded angry from deep inside.

"Hm, yeah. But I think I gotta go now. It's… 12:30 on our clock." said Link looking at the digital clock, which was on the side table drawer of the bed. Link stood up and made his way to his room, where the speaker of the phone laid.

"Sure. Goodnight, Link."

"Goodnight, Dark. Bye."

At that, they both hung up the phone. Link looked at Vaati sleeping soundly on his bed as if nothing happened. Link went to his sleeping bag just beside the occupied bed. He yawned and stretched, and then finally tucked himself to sleep.

Hours passed, and Link awakened. Some noise woke him up… some monstrous noise. He looked around fearing that it may come in the house, whatever that was. But when he finally knew where it came from, he let out a muffled chuckle. What kind of a noise was that? Some monstrous noise… but if you listen very carefully, you may consider it to be… cute.

Cute?

You probably know what the source is…

Link looked at Vaati, and the sorcerer lost in slumber was snoring.

_'And I thought Grandpa had the most outrageous snore… who would've thought that Vaati…'_ Link giggled at the idea. He looked at Vaati one last time before tucking himself in sleep again. It was hard for it was noisy and funny in his opinion, but he finally managed to get to sleep.

***

"Aww, isn't he cute?"

A lot of snapshots can be heard. Voices of two boys were chuckling to themselves. It seemed that they were talking about something, but it seemed so unclear as to what it was. Giggling could still be heard, and it went on until…

Vaati opened his eyes.

"Finally!"

The pale boy looks around with sleepy yet surprised eyes. Before him was the hero of Hyrule as we all know it, and the shadowy youngster holding some sort of a strange mechanism in his hands. He noticed that the two were not in their usual garbs. The blonde was not in his usual hero attire; for he was wearing a white shirt and lime shorts while the brunette wore a loose dirty white top… wait. Why WERE they dressed like this? The albino Minish just stared at the two Links full of curiosity.

"What?" Dark asked, still a bit irritated at their new friend. "Oh, don't tell me you think that we're hot? Man, I'm outta here!" The rebel youngster said, looking away from his two companions.

'Oh, dear… this is gonna be tough…' thought Link as he scratched his head, a bit confused at their state.

Surely enough, Dark has accepted Vaati in the group just as Link says so, but he has not FULLY accepted the newcomer who didn't seem to be getting along with him very well.

"Well Vaati, thing is…" Link revealed a translucent green lifesaver.

Apparently, the Minish wasn't used seeing these things, so he just shied away from it, as if it was something like a dangerous apparatus of some sort.

"H-hey, come on! It's just a lifesaver! You know, that thing you use while swimming especially when you're a noob?" Link tried to convince Vaati that it wasn't... EVIL, or anything of the sort.

"Save your breath, Link. I think this guy IS a noob at everything." the boy in the dirty white shirt blurted out. "Let's just go already!"

_'This is stupid of me… now that I AM getting friends, what the heck am I doing? Now that there are people who may like me, I do this to them…'_ Vaati shook his head, trying to erase those thoughts that filled his mind.

"Listen, he's just nervous. He DID just recover from the harsh rain. We can't blame him, Dark. Seriously."

"Link…" Dark mumbled. _'–sigh- Whatever… I wish not to get into any fights with you now…'_ "Fine!"

Link smiled at him, happy knowing that Dark finally gave in to his statements. "Well, Vaati? Dress up!"

_'Dress up? Like THAT?'_ "I-I'm not…" _'Oh, come on, Vaati… they're trying to get you in their group… Don't let them down now! They… they don't seem bad, anyway… r-right?'_

The two taller boys looked at their new friend. They then exchanged glances and decided to rummage around the closet for any suitable swimwear. The albino Minish just looked at them and came to realize that these two may very well be the most "unique" people he could ever stumble up with. He took a look at them from the bed he sat on and saw that they are practically shoveling through Link's closet.

It seemed endless for him, even after seeing Zelda's closet, but at least Zelda had a variation of costumes! Link's closet consisted mainly of tunics-red, blue, black, and… purple?

_'Link really is a tough guy… I wonder if Zelda stole his pink tunic.'_ Vaati recalled that Zelda had a pink tunic in her closet and wondered if it was originally Link's. It seemed impossible to find anything in that closet, but…

"A-HA!"

Dark revealed short purple trunks in his hands along with a very light purple sleeveless garb, its cloth perfect for going out to the beach. "Now we're all ready!"

"All right, Dark!" winked the hero at his materialized alternate self. Vaati took the clothes in his hands and started dressing up. The two, in order to preserve his decency, turned their backs on him.

After dressing up, the boys finally made their way to the town's beach. It was only of walking distance from Link's house where they can see the verdant fields of where the forest animals lived from across the sea. Link pulled Vaati along with him as he ran to the blue water under the beautiful azure sky. The sun shone brightly and brilliantly as Link dived into the clear, cool water. Vaati just looked at him as he swam about gleefully. He turned to look at the other red-eyed boy, and he spotted him striking his umbrella in the sand and laying out a carpet. He wore shades and decided to lay down under the shade of the umbrella.

Vaati tried to think of the right words to say, but he suddenly blurted out, "H-hey, Dark? Why don't you c-come over here, with us…?"

Dark just looked at him, and then continued to rest on the carpet. Vaati felt sheepish and awkward, so he decided to leave Dark alone and join Link who was already-

"Hey, Vaati! CATCH!" The long-haired boy was surprised as he caught a beach ball in his hands. He stared at Link, apparently confused. "Just throw it to me!"

Vaati did as instructed, and then Link got hold of it. "See? Nothing to it!"

Link ran farther to where he put up a volleyball net. "Come on!"

Soon after, the two boys enjoyed themselves playing ball. Dark just looked at them, letting his sunglasses down a bit, revealing his piercing crimson eyes. After a while, Link suddenly chuckled and ran towards the shore while hogging the ball. Vaati giggled and chased Link around, although he is slower than the hero. Link deliberately slowed himself down and tried to make Vaati keep up with his pace. It is, after all, just a game.

"Gotcha!" shouted Vaati as he glomped onto Link. They both fell to the sand, face down. They both laughed at how silly they must've looked.

"Nngh… okay! Haha, ever learn how to swim?" The shorter boy shook his head with embarrassment. "Not to worry! Lots of other people don't know how to swim! Well, in that case…"

As they stood up, Link dragged Vaati to the water's shallow surface. "Come on! It's fun!"

The shy boy gathered up his courage and followed Link to wear he swam, about only 4 feet in depth. "It wasn't so bad now, wasn't it?" chuckled the blonde boy. Vaati smiled wryly.

Link sent out a wave of water enough to choke Vaati. The lavender-haired boy scowled. "W-what was that for?"

"Hey, come on! Let's have some fun!" Link seemed to be having so much fun.

"Oh, is that so?" the Minish returned the Hylian's waves with his own, but they weren't strong enough.

"STRONGER!" shouted Link with that smile again. Vaati was determined to beat Link in his own game so…

The two boys soon had a big tidal wave fight. In fact, it seemed like their laughs matched up with how much fun they were having.

"BLEAH! Nice one, Vaati!" said Link.

Vaati seemed proud of himself. Just as he was about to triumph over Link, there was this wav- "PFFFRT! AGGHHH! Link!"

"Don't you like it?"

Vaati felt something wriggling in the garter of his trunks. "W-wha?"

'A-a small fish?'

"Welcome to our circle of friends, Vaati." said Link sweetly.

"H-how did it get here?"

Link chuckled. "It's my special trick. I dunno, sometimes I surprise myself. I once did that to Zelda. She found a small flower in her collar when I blew my 'Whirlwind', my gadget that looks like a giant pinwheel."

Vaati tried to hang onto the small pinkish white carp as small as his hands. It was so slippery, and he didn't think it could handle it any longer.

Link came across a small bottle the size of a regular notebook from the shallow ocean floor. It didn't have a neck, resembling one of his bottles that contained his potions and fairies in his adventures. It was perfect for a temporary aquarium. The smaller of the boys slid the fish in the water-filled bottle and they watched it swim inside. Vaati seemed so happy looking at his new pet, but somehow sad.

"What is it, Vaati? Aren't you happy with your new pet?"

Vaati shook his head.

"N-no, I didn't mean THAT… it's just…" He looked at the bottle with his ruby eyes that almost let out tears. The fish swam in circles in the small space. "It looks… lonely… and not very used to such a small world it's having. I just feel so sorry for it… I have you guys and it…"

Vaati could not believe what he just said as he immediately covered his mouth before anything else could come out. _'What are you saying, you stupid boy?!'_ Vaati let out an exasperated sigh.

"Oh… you're right." The Hylian's ears flopped down upon his realization.

"Psst! Hey!" The two turned to the direction of the voice. It was Dark, apparently standing beside… a boat? Dark was standing beside his boat away from his carpet, but he still had his parasol with him. It was a black parasol, filled with white masculine frills, probably a gift from the princess.

"AAAALLLL ABOAAARD!" called out the shadowy boy from under his shade. The two swam for shore and ran to the small boat, not forgetting their new pet. It was a small motorboat, just enough for the three of them to fit in. Dark handed Vaati a summer hat, which was probably snatched from Zelda's closet. It was white, laced with pink ribbons.

_'Seriously? This is too girly, even for me!'_ thought the shortest of the three, eyeing the hat as he held it.

"You'll need it, trust me. It's a very sunny day." The shadow clone then looked at the horizon. 'How do they find this "light" beautiful? It's… revolting!'

They started the boat, and soon it was in normal speed.

Link enjoyed the view. There were white islands floating about, the water was crystal blue, varieties of fish could be seen swimming along with them, the summer clouds were white and fluffy; never covering the sun unlike the past few days, and the breeze and gentle sprays of the water that touched his face was refreshing.

Vaati mostly enjoyed looking at the water. As they were speeding, he lowered his fingers to the sea and felt its ripple. He saw the fish swimming to and fro. 'Even the animals are afraid of me? No… it's just their instinct… I also ran away from humans whenever they came… it's just a force of habit…'

"Almost there." said Dark, never letting go of his black parasol. Link and Vaati both looked at what was ahead of them…

It was a sandy white island… merged in water? Yes, it was a small island just a few inches below the water's surface which is the size of a quarter of a regular-sized classroom. They finally docked, and enjoyed the beautiful, outlandish island. The Hylian-Minish stooped down and stared in awe as he never saw an actual island nor set foot in it; and to top it all off, the fish were swimming on top of the island! It was truly an unusual thing to see; but it was undeniably stunning. Link gazed at the far distance while sitting on the submerged isle. There were free seagulls flying about. The breeze certainly didn't let down… it felt a lot like summer.

But the breeze had turned a lot stronger than it should have, so Vaati's hat was blown away to the sea. The purple boy's mouth was left agape as he watched his borrowed summer hat blown farther away to the sea. Amazingly enough, Dark managed to control his parasol. But upon seeing the hat being blown away, he folded his parasol, put it in the safe part of the boat, took off his shirt showing his somehow revealing black trunks, plunged into the sea and swam away.

He swam at an amazing speed. The hat was really far away, but he managed to get it safely. He waved to the other guys and signaled to them that it's okay. He swam back to the isle and gave the hat back to Vaati. The long-haired Minish blushed, feeling very sheepish.

"T-thank you… and sorry…" he said in such a reserved tone. Dark simply nodded his head.

Link could not help but think that Dark's behaving funny. He could not help but notice that Dark's cheeks were all… bloated.

He then prompted to ask his friend. "Hey, Dark. What's up?"

"Mm-mmm-mmm!" Dark refused to open his mouth. He looked at the jar where their new pet was, and immediately grabbed it. He then opened the jar and then…

"BLECH!"

"A…a…aahhh…" Vaati's eyes widened as he began to stutter.

"What the heck?!" exclaimed Link, obviously shocked by Dark's actions.

"Hehe, thanks…" said Dark, handing over the jar to Vaati.

"EEWW!" shouted Link in utter disgust. But the other boy didn't retch in disgust, instead… he felt delighted.

When he looked at the jar again, it no longer contained a single fish… now there were two of them. There was the previous pinkish-white fish, and there was this midnight-black fish of the same size along with it.

He turned to Dark, "You mean to tell me…"

"Yep… sorry. It was the only way I could ever get hold of that fish without having to put it in my trunks.

"Well, that was a revolting idea…" said Link raising a brow.

"-Snort!- " Link turned to Dark, hoping that he was already laughing at him, being a bit pissed at the shadow's idea and all, but…

"AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA! Oh my goodness, haha!" laughed Vaati. "I-in your trunks? T-that's gotta be all sorts of awkward… -snicker!-"

The purple boy didn't seem to get enough laughter. At that, Dark and Link laughed along with him. They found this outing most unforgettable, as the foundation of their new friendship.

It was later that day when it reached dusk that the boys decided to watch the sunset together at shore to end their day. The sunset showed brilliant hues of orange, red, yellow, and partly revealed the colors of the rainbows through its glistening rays. It slowly crept its way down the horizon, where the winds seemed to gently kiss it goodbye.

"If only Grandpa were here to see this, I'm sure he'd take a lot of pics of us with the sunset!" exclaimed Link.

"If that ever happened, I mean that 'if Grandpa were here' bit, we would've wasted the whole day by just taking pics." scoffed Dark.

"…" Vaati looked at his collection of shells and at his two new fish. "… B-but… they're memories… right?"

The hero and the anti-hero turned to the once-villain of Hyrule.

"… We can't bring yesterday-the past back…. it's best that we make the best out of it…" stuttered Vaati as he avoided eye contact once again, especially avoiding Dark's piercing eyes. They are especially piercing, the fact that Vaati shunned away even when he's wearing his sunglasses half-way showing those eyes.

"S'true. I guess you CAN'T bring the past back…" contemplated Dark. "It's just that you can improve your life by knowing all your faults in the past."

The brunette turned to the twilight's peak. As far as he's concerned, in just a matter of minutes, night was bound to fall.

"Hey," he said, standing up. "Let's go. It's getting late."

The three packed up all their things and ensured that they left nothing behind. They walked home to Link's place and there they had a sleepover. It was a bit unusual for boys their age to have something like this, but hey. It's a guys' night out. They decided to cleanse their bodies of any sea water one after another before having their fun ad infinitum.

"LET'S CRASH THIS PLACE!"

Dark went like crazy running around the house.

"HEYYY! HEY, LISTEN!" shouted Link at the top of his lungs.

It was no use, Dark was laughing hysterically, but you could see the joy that he experiences with the tone of his laughter.

_'He must've been so happy after being liberated… hmph, how could I ever forget that day that I liberated him?'_ He thought as he recalled the past, and then called out, "Come on, Dark! Just because it's our great escape from school doesn't mean that you have to crash MY house! Grandpa's so gonna kill me if he comes home and the house is… HEY!"

He spotted Dark on top of the staircase carrying two vases.

"D-don't you dare…" said Link in a serious tone as he slowly took a step forward before Dark does a stupid thing. Dark simply gave out a smirk.

"I'm telling on you!" warned Link.

"Oh, really?"

"Ya, really!"

What do you think? Dark simply stepped downstairs carrying the vases safely…

Ha. Of course not. You didn't expect him to be as soft as that now, did you? He jumped onto the rails of the staircase and-

"NO WAIIIIIII!" screamed Link as if there was no tomorrow. Dark sped down the rails showing off his cool moves. Vaati was absolutely amazed and just stared at Dark, his mouth agape. Link on the other hand, also had his mouth wide open… but in utter fear and shock!

"Grandpa'sgonnakillmeGrandpa'sgonnakillmeGrandpa'sgonnakillme Grandpa'sgonnakillmeGrandpa'sgonnakillmeGrandpa'sgonnakillme Grandpa'sgonnakillme Grandpa'sgonnakillme…" Link uttered over and over again, and it didn't look like he's stopping anytime soon.

Dark bumped onto the small circular ornament at the end of the rails.

"GRANDPA'S KILLING ME EVEN AFTER DEATH!"

Vaati grew worried. Was his newly found friend going to be in an accident? But how could anyone who's about to get involved in an accident smile? Smile?

Dark landed on the floor with his two feet, spreading out his arms and hands wide enough to make himself take the shape of a cross. The two vases were still in mid-air, and Link stared in horror as he saw the two vases hurled up in the air. He followed the two with a shaken stare. The two vases then perfectly landed right onto each of Dark's palms. The black-haired boy then closed his eyes in honor and took a bow.

Vaati's eyes gleamed with joy and applauded to his extent. "Bravo! Bravo! Such a fine performance!" he giggled a lot, showing sheer delight in the performance. Never in his life had he seen stunts like that; no, not in his world.

Link was horribly shaken up by Dark's bizarre performance, but upon seeing his new friend in such pleasure, he slowly calmed himself down and wanted to share the Hylian-Minish's happiness.

Vaati then looked at Link, who still had traces of downright terror on his face and-

"-Snicker!- Ahahahahahahaha! Ahaha! Oh,Link! -giggle!- " the boy with the scar on his face could not help but burst out in laughter seeing his blonde friend's face. It was all too much for him. "Ahaha! What's with that look?"

"That is the face of evil." smirked the brunette.

"-Snicker!- "

"Oh, boy…" said Link, getting tad exasperated.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA! Oh, goodness, AHAHAHAHA!"

"What the… hey! Was that joke even THAT funny to begin with?"

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry… -snort!- " the Minish continued to giggle.

Dark and Link exchanged glances and looked at their new friend. It somehow relieved the both of them knowing that their new friend was having a good time.

"So what's in store for us tonight?" said Link, changing the subject.

Link looked to his side to find that he wasn't talking to anyone. Vaati kept on giggling to himself while he could no longer see Dark. But he did see Dark not long after; in their kitchen, no less. He was sitting on the floor in front of the refrigerator while finding something that he could raid.

"And what do you think you're doing?" said Link with an irritated face.

"Hmmm…. aha!" Dark spotted a lollipop in the fridge. It was tad tiny and red, among all the rest of the bunch in the box. He decided to bring it along with him as they planned the night ahead of them.

When Vaati finally stopped giggling, the three decided to go upstairs to Link's room. They all settled their possessions once setting foot in the room and the two Links laid down their sleeping bags. The owner of the room whole-heartedly gave his bed to the new kid ever since he set foot in the house last week.

The three then changed to their night attires. The hero wore a green tunic-like top with cozy white leggings, still with a long sleeved garb to match. The once anti-hero wore a black garb, similar to an elegant bathrobe. Its neckline was laced with red silk, and the robe itself was imprinted with red clouds thickly outlined with white. The ex-villain wore something similar to a short nightgown, which looked a lot like his tunic without his puffy red pants.

Of course, as they had settled down in the room, they didn't forget about the new inhabitants of the house. As they swam inside their little bottle, Vaati sprawled on the floor, face down while he enjoyed looking at them together. 'Thank goodness… Now you've got a friend, fishy! I can't believe it either, but I think I got myself new friends too…'

The boy turned to see that Link was beside him, also lying down on the ground the same position as him. He was also looking at the fish in the bottle. The Minish stared at the Hylian surreptitiously. 'I had doubts before… but I think you really are my friend now. I wish I had the guts to tell you that… but I'm afraid that you'd hate me for that… I mean, I shouldn't be rushing you guys too soon… right?'

He became confused about how he should feel. He thought that he felt very happy, now that he wasn't being ignored and that he now has a circle of friends. Moreover, he has Link with him, who never seems to give up on him and always lifted up his spirits. On the other hand, he always felt that something was wrong… he doesn't know if it was him or if it was with any of the Links he made friends with, all he knows is that something… doesn't feel right.

_'Oh, what are you thinking about again? Now you have trustworthy friends who will love you for who you are… so why do you keep on getting all the negative things and just feel bad about it?'_

"Vaati… Vaati!"

Vaati's eyes widened in realization that he was still with his friends in that room. He then shook his head and then looked at them with eyes that said, "I'm okay."

"What's the matter?" inquired Dark. "Did you get too tired from our outing, or from laughing too much?"

Vaati didn't know what to say. He can't tell them what he was thinking.

_'They'd think of me as a weirdo… it's better this way…'_ "Ummm, nothing? I was just thinking what we would do… maybe… tell stories?" he immediately felt that he made the wrong move.

"Telling… stories…" that got Dark thinking. He then looked at the once-wind mage with much intent in his eyes.

_'I… I don't like that look…'_ Vaati shied away at this. Dark slowly inched his way toward Vaati. The purple boy backed away slowly. _'W-what? What are you going to do…?'_

He looked at Dark's crimson eyes with his, much in confusion and fear.

"What now, Dark?" asked Link to his other self.

"Story-telling…"

"So? What's that gotta do with…. oh… you want some ghost stories?"

Dark just turned to look at Vaati. "That, and some other stories…"

_'O-other stories?'_ The former wind sorcerer bowed down his head. _'What did he mean…?'_

Link got his ghost story book entitled "True Hylian Ghost Stories", another volume of the same book title he always read. Dark grabbed a flashlight from his bag and turned off the lights. The brunette went in the blanket of Link's bed before the other two. Link pulled Vaati inside the warm sheets.

The flashlight was turned on, and was stuck under Dark's hat.

"Which one should we read?" inquired Link.

"Everything!" shouted Dark with much excitement. He popped the red lollipop in his mouth and was all ready to read.

They read the stories as they sat under the mint green sheets. Dark was in the middle, and the two other boys sat by his side holding the book in their hands.

Vaati grew scared with each passing story and even thought, 'I'm not sure I'll be able to sleep tonight… I wish I could've stayed home with Master…'

Link still reacted much to the stories. It appears that this was his newest book that he just purchased from the town's bookstore and hasn't read it until now.

"Hey, hey! Look at this!" pointed Dark at a particular story.

It was a story about the group of young people like them who also decided to have their guys' night out. They stayed in a vacation house since it was their break from school.

"It sounds just like us…" Dark gave out an evil smile.

'The youngsters heard an eerie sound from their house and decided to check it… and when they did…'

Link and Vaati became so absorbed in reading it. Since Dark already knows the story, he wasn't so much into it. After all, he had the same book which he finished days ago, before Link even bought his own volume of the book! He just enjoyed reading the book with his friends.

Seeing that both his friends were very occupied reading the book… He bent a bit backward and-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH !"

"EYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The two screamed at the top of their lungs as well. Dark burst into laughter, tears almost coming out from his eyes. "Why you-!"

Link decided to give Dark a wild goose chase around the house. They dashed outside the door and created chaotic waltzes around the house. Vaati didn't want to be alone, so he went after the two of them. After all, that prank that Dark pulled on them almost gave him a heart attack. He just had to chase Dark as well!

Just as Vaati came downstairs, they were in a total stop and the lights were turned on. The blonde and the brunette just stood frozen in the kitchen, as they seemed to stare at nothing. He felt a bit creeped out, but he approached the both of them. 'Just what is going on…?'

"Hey, Link…"

"Shhhhh!" the shadow shushed the Minish. Dark looked around with his eyes and tried to see through the darkness. Their ears began to twitch.

"Did you hear that?" asked Dark to his friends. He turned to the direction of the noise. It sounded like scratches… eerie scratches. And it sounded near.

"Don't make a sound." commanded Dark to his friends of the light. He swiftly and silently ran to the sound. Link and Vaati followed him.

As they approached to where the sound may have come from, they saw that it was a garbage can. The garbage can was literally shaking and was creating a lot of commotion in the silent night. Link shielded Vaati as Dark decided to investigate the matter. Even Dark grew a bit nervous while carefully opening the lid of the garbage can. He took a small peep, and-

"RREEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOW WWWWWW!"

"Guwaah!" Dark was taken aback. He fell to the floor landing on his posterior. A black cat jumped out of the garbage can which made the other two gasp. The black cat then ran away from the house, leaving through the doggy door.

Dark grew irritated. "What the heck was that all about?!" He stood, fixing his robe from his fall.

"Well, we don't know… maybe we could just go back upstairs? We mustn't let that ruin our night!" smiled Link.

"You're right." agreed Dark, smiling along with Link.

As the three boys went back upstairs, they locked the room's door tight so that they'll be safe. They then sat on the bed again, but this time, the blanket wasn't over their heads and the lights were on.

"So much for ghost stories…" laughed Dark. He then looked at Vaati.

_'A-again? Why do you keep staring at me?'_ Vaati began to feel uneasy around Dark, so he turned to look at Link, hoping that he would be put at ease… but then he found out that Link was also staring at him.

"…U-ummmm…. do I have something on my face…?" said the shy boy, feeling very uncomfortable around his friends.

"Tell us, Vaati… where exactly DO you live?" asked Dark; with that same serious tone he gave Link.

'W-what? Why do you ask?' He now felt much pressured. "W-well… I live somewhere very far…"

"Listen man, we're worried about you." said Dark sternly but gently to Vaati, putting his left hand on his pale friend's shoulder. "Your parents may be worried sick and everyone else back where you came from might be looking for you. And you…" said Dark squinting his eyes a bit with obvious concern, "… what would become of you?"

Vaati was forced to look into his eyes._ 'Stop it… you're making me feel… a lot of things I would want to forget about myself…'_

"Hey," said Link, interrupting. "How's about we play a game of Truth or Dare?"

_'Now's not the time for that, moron.'_ That thought filled Dark's mind as he gave Link an exasperated look.

"Hey, Vaati. Since you were the last to come down awhile ago, are you up for it?" Link said, his voice almost demanding a dare.

_'Y-you're up to something… aren't you…? Please, Link…'_ He was practically pleading in his mind. "U-ummm… well…"

"Come on…" said Link. "It's given that you have a punishment for being the last guy. See, this is our night out, and we may make any rules we please."

_'Link… what are you up to now?'_

"Come on, Vaati. Let's do it like grown-ups. Truth… or Dare?" said Link with full confidence. Vaati became nervous. He just knows that something unpleasant is about to happen.

"… A… aahhh….." he gave it a second thought. "I… I…. I pick 'dare'…" said Vaati, almost in a whisper. He was perspiring, very anxious about what Link has in store for him.

Link smiled. "Wait here, please."

He left to get something from his closet. It was that closet again, from where it seemed like a bottomless pit filled with tunics and the like. Vaati and Dark looked at each other.

"H-hey, don't look at me! I dunno what he's up to!" said the alter ego of the Hylian hero.

Link finally stood. He looked like he was holding something with his own two hands, and he seemed to be very intent with his dare to Vaati.

_'This is it… the dare… for the truth…'_ he thought to himself.

As he approached his other friends waiting for him on the bed, he held something behind him. Dark became curious; Vaati became perplexed.

_'What are you going to make me do…?'_ he gave Link a bothered stare.

"Vaati… I dare you to wear this." He finally showed what he held behind him.

Vaati's eyes widened. He was in intense disbelief and fear, judging by how he looked at the object Link was holding. His mouth was left agape in shock. Dark finally got Link's idea, but even he was surprised to see that Link brought out the past. It wasn't like him to bring out the past and seriously go over it again.

Link grew impatient and urged him. "Come on. Wear it!"

"N-no… w-what is that thing…?" said Vaati, slightly backing away from the object in Link's hands.

"It's just a hat, Vaati. Like our hats, see? It looks like our hats."

"N-no… it's different, Link… It's different!"

"Well, if you don't wanna wear it… truth, then?"

There was a long pause. It was so silent that Vaati can be heard breathing hardly. The black-haired boy broke the silence. "So, do you accept the truth, then?"

_'Hmph. Nice friends I ended up with… now what do I do…? M-master… please help…'_

Link's cerulean eyes stared into Vaati's scarlet eyes. It was then that the purple boy could not help but burst into tears. He put his face into his palms and started to sob silently.

"H-hey!" Dark immediately went by Vaati's side and comforted the poor boy.

"M-master… MASTER!" screamed Vaati. "Help me…"

_'Master? Who exactly is he talking about… can it be…?'_ "Vaati, who is this 'master' that you speak of?" said Link sternly.

"!" _'Oh, you stupid boy! What have you done? Now you've done it! You're ruining everything!'_ Vaati tried to deny his previous statement. "Uh… I… no, I didn't say that…"

"Yes you did." Link said with a straight face. "You screamed it out loud. Who is this 'master', Vaati?"

"I… I call my dad, 'master'… that's right… my dad…" Vaati, as usual, avoided eye contact. "He's so dominant that I grew scared of him all throughout my childhood. I just HAD to call him my master…."

The two Links looked at the shaking boy. They both felt sad for him. Just look at his boy, all alone in the world, all frightened of his own father.

_'I can't tell them… not yet… until Master says so…'_ "So that's it… that hat… it just reminds me so much of him… he used to show me such things…"

"I'm… sorry to hear that, Vaati…" Link said, feeling a bit guilty by his own actions. _'But Vaati… what really happened to you? I want you to tell me…'_

"HEY!" the green and the purple boy heard a shout.

Dark was standing in front of them, crossing his arms and looking down at the both of them.

"This is a guys' night out. Shouldn't we be having fun, fun, and lots more fun?!" he said, tapping his foot in his wait. The two looked at each other and smiled.

"He's right." whispered Link gently. He stood up and offered his hand to Vaati… like what he did to him when they first met in the playground. Vaati smiled back at him and took his hand.

"TIME TO PARTY!" said Dark, opening the television set. Immediately, the character roster for Super Smash Bros. Brawl appeared on its screen.

"What th…" Link wondered in astonishment.

"While you two were talking, I set up the Wii and turned it on. All I was waiting for was y'all, and I'm all ready for it! So grab your remotes and let's start playing! COME ON, PEOPLE!"

"And after this day, we'll still party. I've got tickets~!" He showed tickets for three- three "all-you-can-ride" tickets to the town's amusement park!

"All-you-can-ride…?"

"Yep! It's kind of like that thing here that you get to ride carnival rides ad infinitum, my dear! It's only THE funnest thing in the world!"

"I see…"

The boys continued playing until they dropped. It was already three AM when they decided to sleep in their own sleeping bags and bed. It was a peaceful night, as to no one in the neighborhood was awake at that hour, more so having a nice party all to themselves! Everything was serene at the approaching dawn.

_'Oh, "Dark"… you'll just never change, will you…?'_ Link thought as he went to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6: Confrontations

**Chapter 6: Confrontations**

"All right, Vaati. You may open your eyes now."

The purple boy opened his eyes and what he saw made his mouth left agape.

"Surprise!" exclaimed Dark. The boys were in their casual attire. Link wore a green polo over his white shirt, with matching black pants and white rubber shoes. Dark wore a black jacket with a white shirt underneath that measured until half of his upper body, with matching silver triforce necklace and black pants and shoes. Vaati wore a slightly loose deep violet jacket with white tights underneath and deep violet boots. He also wore a dark purple bonnet with thick lavender lining.

And the reason why they were in those clothes was because of what Vaati had seen. Before Vaati's eyes was a beautiful amusement park filled with different lights that softly gleamed with all the joy that could be felt even outside of it. They could hear screams and laughter of joy from inside the vicinity, almost making them want to just barge inside. But wait, they could! They did have tickets beforehand after all!

As the boys rushed inside with undeniable glee, they thought of where they should go first, since there were so many to choose from.

"Oh! Come here, Vaati!" Dark tugged Vaati's arm as he ran to the nearest game booth. It held a game of archery.

"This'll be easy," said Dark with full confidence as he paid the counter and grabbed his bow. He tried shooting all of them, but he made one little slip and didn't get just one more measly target to pass the quota. _'What's wrong with me today?!'_

He turned to Vaati and saw Link by his side, grasping in his hands a bow and an arrow, ready to aim at the targets. He watched as Link elegantly shot all his targets with skill and mastery. They WERE alike and the same person, but the two Links still showed some differences and individualities.

"Congratulations! You won a prize!" handed Salvatore, working in his new booth at the fair.

"Hey, it's you! You look a bit… happier now, and that's saying a lot!" exclaimed Link.

"Many people are now coming to my booth, so I guess that makes me feel a bit happier. Still, I hope… you know… I wish not to be stuck in this business forever."

"Yeah, well that's good to hear! Good luck!" Link said, claiming his prize. It was a big fluffy cucco plush toy. He then turned to Vaati and handed him the prize.

"F-For me…?" blushed Vaati. "B-But… you won it!"

"I got it for you. After all, you need something to hug in your sleep!" said Link with a friendly chuckle.

_'It's that smile again… if only I could steal something from you, Link… that would be your smile… it's just priceless… I wish I had a smile like that… a genuine smile…'_

Vaati hugged his new "pet" as he smiled warmly to Link giving out a "thank you" with his eyes.

"Come on," said Link, happy to see that Vaati is off to a good start in the fair. The two went together, but Dark stayed behind the two… like a shadow. He seemed to be embarrassed that he didn't win that prize. It didn't matter what prize he got… although he didn't know what exactly is it that he really wanted, to win in that archery booth or to win Vaati a prize.

"Wanna ride the Ferris wheel?" asked Link to the boy with the cucco plush doll in his hands. Vaati nodded at this. As the boys approached the ride…

"Ehhh… y'all still wanna go, guys?" said Dark, having doubt all across his face.

"Well, Vaati?" asked Link once again.

Vaati looked at the very long queue of people. From the ride itself, it looked as if the people in line could fill all the spaces of a mansion! He gave it a second thought, but still gave a certain "yes".

Link looked at Dark and shrugged his shoulders. Dark replied with a raised brow and a face that said "whatever…"

They followed Vaati's request. It seemed like an eternity that they kept waiting in that line. Until finally…

"Hey guys! We're next! Isn't it exciting?" eagerly said Vaati, almost continuously jumping as they were permitted to go in. Link and Dark simply smiled at him, happy to know that they were already going on the ride. Finally! But it would seem that just queuing up for the ride would be longer than the ride itself!

_'Whoa. Never saw anyone as excited as that to go on a ride on a Ferris wheel!'_ Dark gave out a light chuckle at the idea.

As the new batch settled in their seats one by one in a carriage that looked like elegant spheres, they made themselves cozy in one of the carriages. The Hylian hero peered outside its windows wide enough to see a scenery and to let fresh breezes of the night wind to pass by through them.

"Vaati." called out Link without looking at him. He simply gave out a signal to him to come closer.

Vaati did indeed come closer, and when he did, Link pointed outside the window. He stared in awe at what he saw…

It was a beautiful night scenery of the amusement park. Lights filled every corner of the fair, people were enjoying everywhere, and the rides were good eye candies. As he looked again, he saw the bright moon in the distance… and he could swear that the moon gave out the cold, gentle breezes that touched his face.

"I-It's beautiful…" That was all the minish had to say.

Dark also peered outside, but he kept a distance from the two. He didn't know why, but he just dared not to go that close to the two who appeared to be enjoying themselves just looking at the lovely landscape.

As the ride came to an end for them, they all stepped out of their car. Vaati seems to have enjoyed himself so much that he's embracing his doll tighter. Dark scratched the back of his head, for once a bit ticked off that his ride in the Ferris wheel was over. He did enjoy looking at his friends so entertained by a simple ride, according to him.

He wanted to show Vaati to a more… intense ride. Something hardcore. He looked around to see any more enjoyable rides. _'Let's see… roller coasters are so cliché…tunnel of love is DEFINITELY not for us… the merry-go-round's too mild for me… hmmm…'_ He looked around again. _'Perfect.'_

"Hey, Vaati." He called out to his friend holding the cucco warmly in his arms. "Wanna see something really exciting?"

They queued up for the "MegaDrop". They saw that the line was long as well but Dark could feel the great excitement awaiting them. He just can't wait to see Vaati's reaction upon getting on the ride. Jerk.

When it was finally their batch's turn, Dark immediately got seats for three. He seems to be so used getting the best places for the rides that he wants. Vaati stayed in the middle of the two Links, with the blonde on his right and the black haired boy on his left. The ride was already starting. The lavender-haired boy looked down as he saw his cucco stuffed toy becoming smaller by the second, as it was just staring at him from below within the operator's care.

The ride finally reached its peak, and Vaati could feel the winds touching his face. _'The winds… they feel like they're calling onto me… as I did them…'_

"Don't look down." Dark told Vaati without eye contact, smirking.

Vaati, as a reflex action, looked down. He was so terrified to see that he was all the way up there._ 'I… I shouldn't be scared… I've experienced this height before…so why am I afraid? … Wait… I don't have wings!'_

Link gently pressed Vaati's right hand as the ride reached its climax. Their seats immediately dropped, and the winds felt more intense as they plummeted down. Vaati's mouth was wide open and was fixed for a scream, but nothing came out of his mouth. The shadowy boy was obviously enjoying himself, he mouth was also wide open, but it was fixed with a smile. Link, on the other hand, was doing fine on his own. It seemed like any other ride he's been on - exciting.

As their seats reached ground zero, they stood and left the ride. Dark had to carry Vaati's limp body, as the Minish never experienced such an intense ride back where he came from. He obviously was ready to puke at any time. The three then approached a garbage can.

"BLEEEEEEECH!"

"You OK now?" Link patted the once-wind mage's back.

Vaati gave him a self-assuring smile, although you could still see traces of a nauseous boy on his face.

"Hey, you forgot something." said Dark, handing Vaati his stuffed bird.

"Oh! Thank you!" Vaati immediately hugged his stuffed toy.

"Good thing I went back there. We almost completely forgot about the poor thing."

"Oh right, Vaati." blurted out Link. "What name do you plan to give it?"

"Ah? … I… I dunno…"

Vaati contemplated for a name to give his stuffed doll. He thought hard…

"How about… Robin?" suggested Vaati.

"Robin?" Dark was very curious. _'Sounds nice… but of all the names… why couldn't you just call it "Fluffy" or "Whitey"?'_

"Robin… as in 'Robin Hood'… well… I just thought that since we got him from the archery booth…" smiled Vaati.

"And we didn't have to pay getting it…." said Dark, making that smirk on his face again.

Link immediately defended his side. "H-Hey! It's not as if I stole that!" He shouted at Dark's face.

"Why are you so defensive about it?" Dark snapped at him, still with the smile fixed on his face. To him, it feels good that Link gets ticked off… especially if it's because of his antics.

"I'm not saying that…" said Vaati, with much apology in his eyes.

"Of course not…" said Link gently. He was trying not to hurt his feelings, of course, after last night's heart-to-heart talk. "I'm talking to HIM."

"Anyways, are we just gonna stand here?" interrupted Dark, who was ready for more excitement. His arms were crossed, and his foot was tapping again; a signal that he's impatiently waiting. "I wanna show y'all something real exciting."

"No." said Link. He grasped Vaati's arm kindly. "There's something that I wanted to show him, too. Let's just…"

Dark, without more ado, also grabbed Vaati's other arm. It was more forceful than Link's; causing him to be pulled towards Dark's side to his surprise. Link hadn't let go of Vaati's other arm.

"Link, give me a chance. I wanted to show Vaati something really exciting. I'm sure he'll love it more than the ride I took you guys to."

"Though you ARE me, I don't exactly understand your tastes. When you say that it's exciting… who knows what you're up to!"

"LINK! Just let me show him something!"

"NO! We're so gonna miss the fun!"

The two had a tug-of-war… and Vaati's the "rope"! Each Link wanted to show something to their new friend… but what exactly were they? _'Stop it, you two… it hurts… M-Master… help…'_ "..O-Ow… please… stop…"

"Whatever! Whoever gets Vaati's grasp will get to shows whatever he wants!" scowled Dark at his light self.

"May the best man win." uttered Link with determination in his eyes.

Both the Links ran at the same direction. They were hoping that at one point, they're going different directions… and Vaati awaited that too, with much fear. 'I wish for my arms to be intact, please…' The two Links ran at lightning pace that got the most of the people's attention.

As they came to a stop in a plain meadow…

"Where exactly are you going?! Are you copying me?" shouted Link at his shadow self.

"Copying you?! F'course not! The nerve of you saying that… I still believe that shadows are meant to be individuals… although they are infused with their so-called 'owners'!" growled Dark at his other self.

As the two were fighting, they heard an explosion that boomed in the heavens. It echoed through the skies, and as it did, Vaati's eyes were fixed at the beautiful, brilliant colors it emitted. The two Links stared at the sight as well.

"So you mean to tell me…" they said to each other simultaneously.

They all looked at the heavens again. There were more hues-green, red, blue, violet, white, lavender, pink... and there were also varieties in shape. They were amazed as the fireworks were not only in circular form… but also in the shape of a smiley face, a heart; a bird, a butterfly, a flower… and they were all a spectacular sight to behold.

"Thank you… thank you so much!" squealed Vaati as he embraced his friends warmly, full of gratitude. Both of them were surprised by his sudden gesture, but they did not think it was very awkward; rather, it was a sign of the beginning of their true friendship. They smiled at each other and gave a signal that said, "Good job!" They raised their thumbs up to each other.

It was then that they felt Vaati silently sobbing.

Sobbing?

They let go of the grasp and without further ado, checked him out. He was indeed crying. Tears trickled down his warm, pale cheeks as he tried to look away from his friends' eyes.

"Vaati, why are you crying?" asked Link worriedly.

"Hey, did we do something wrong?" Dark asked, his eyes showing signs of concern.

"N-Nothing…" Vaati smiled, although it was all behind tears. "I-It's just that… That no one was this nice to me before… I don't know…"

The Minish hesitated to ask, but he just suddenly cried out, "Why are you guys so nice to me…?"

At this, he covered his mouth. He could not believe that he asked this question to them, and it was all so humiliating to the people that have treated him so nicely. He hid his face beneath his silky, soft, lavender lock of hair due to his embarrassment.

"Because you're our friend." Link said without giving it a second thought.

Vaati looked at him. He couldn't believe his ears. _'F-Friend…? Are you guys serious about this…?'_

He looked at Dark, who gave him a friendly smile. Gone were the traces of anxiety toward him. In fact, he felt very comfortable just looking at them; his "new friends". He smiled back at them and nodded, showing them that he finally accepts the truth that they are indeed friends.

As they decided to take on more rides for the night, they found extreme excitement. They rode how many, thirteen or fourteen rides in just one night? And that was almost without stopping to rest or eat!

They enjoyed their night and returned to that same meadow they watched the magnificent fireworks display from. They lay down on the lush verdant grass tainted by the night as they watched the fireflies and the stars watching upon them.

"Aren't they beautiful?" whispered Vaati to his two friends surrounding him.

"Yes… hey look!" pointed Link at somewhere in the sky. "A wishing star! Hurry, make a wish!"

"Oh, come on, Link… you still believe in stuff like those?" said Dark. But upon seeing that they both closed their eyes, he snorted, and closed his eyes as well. They all stayed hushed for a moment. Then Vaati and Dark heard a voice say, "So what did you wish for?"

"Why do you ask?" said Dark.

"I wished… that we could be all good friends til the end…" said Vaati, looking up at the heavens. His eyes gleamed as he saw the stars, twinkling and dancing in the celestial vastness.

"You know… that's what I wished for too…" uttered Link, also looking at the night sky.

"Same here. Frankly, I must say that I enjoy our good start." smiled Dark as he turned to the heavens, slightly tainted by bluish-red clouds, giving it more brilliance to the eyes.

"Guys… why… why did you like me…?" asked Vaati, not looking at them but instead staring blankly at the skies. "I… I mean… uh…"

"To be honest, we don't know either." replied Link, also looking up at the heavens. "I guess it's just because of who you are."

"Yeah, better than that Ganondork. If you ask me, he's way too demanding for me. Worked with him once… not a very good working partner." Dark shuddered.

"B-But Mister Ganondorf… I mean, look at him!" said Vaati. "He fits the tall, dark, and handsome description… what about me…? Short, pale, and ugly…?" He seems to have regretted saying those words, but he didn't flinch; he knows that it was the truth.

"He may fit in that description… and he may be up for the game in the Wii (where I get real good-looking yet again…) but he doesn't have YOUR heart, Vaati. It's just as Dark said." replied Link, smiling at Vaati with that friendly face of his. "And please don't call yourself ugly. Nobody's ugly."

"… T-Thank you…" said Vaati with a slight blush, feeling a bit happy now. _'Really…? Have… have I really changed…?'_

They all found rest in the meadow and stayed there for quite a while. It was until Link said that it was getting really late that they stood and decided to go home to his house again. It was the most exciting night they had.

The next day…

"Vaati… Vaati! Wake up!"

"Hunh…?" Vaati opened his eyes. He was surprised that he was dangling upside down from his bed, and that Dark was pulling his nightgown down.

"Vaati, please try not to be too active in your sleep." insisted Dark. "It was indigo."

"What was that supposed to mean?" Vaati blushed as he immediately fixed himself and sat on the bed. He pulled down his nightgown to hide his legs.

"What we REALLY mean is, you're more active when you're sleeping than Dark is when he's awake… and that's saying a lot." explained Link.

"Man, you were tossing on the bed... then snoring, crying, then laughing, giggling, walking…" enumerated Dark.

"O-Oh… did I…?" Vaati blushed even more. He had no idea… _'Maybe that's why he was so harsh to me whenever I see him in the morning…'_

"No matter." Link shook his head. "What do you say we get breakfast?"

"You slowpokes." said Dark. "I already ordered breakfast at three AM. Pizza."

"Three? Are you serious?!"

"When am I not?"

They all fell silent. If it was ordered at three AM, and it's already eight AM, where's the pizza?

"In my stomach."

Link glared at Dark.

"Of course not. It's downstairs in the fridge. We just have to toast it again or microwave it." smiled Dark.

They all went down for a hearty breakfast. After breakfast, they decided to have more fun! They decided to hunt down chuchu jellies in the backyard, so they readied their traps and successfully got some of them. Luckily, with Vaati by their side, the magician tamed the wild chuchu and the boys made the captured jellies a pen where they will be kept. That took almost half their day away, and at night, same noises can be heard - the boys partying all night long.

"Throw it away!  
Forget yesterday!  
We'll make the great escape!

We won't hear a word they say,  
They don't know us anyway!  
Watch it burn, let it die,  
'Cause we are finally free TONIGHT!"

You guessed it. There was a karaoke; Dark was singing his heart out with the song, "The Great Escape" by Boys Like Girls. The two also sang. Link sang "The Warrior is a Child" by Twila Paris, and Vaati sang "My Immortal", the rock version by Evanescence.

This kind of thing was done all throughout their sem break… and frankly, it was undeniably fun.

They all enjoyed the semester break, although Vaati didn't go to school, he felt the joy of the two just fine. It was already Thursday, and their break was already nearing its end.

Vaati clutched his cucco in his arms tightly as he was taking a load off on the couch of the living room. The two fish finally got their portable yet proper aquarium, and they were displayed on the side table drawer just beside the couch. The two Links were just outside the house, talking on the garden set of terrace in the front yard.

"Hey, Link… do you plan to keep this from him any longer?" said Dark, looking at Link.

"I… I dunno, Dark. I don't think I wanna bring it up anymore. He doesn't feel evil now, really." Link's ears flopped down as he looked at the ground.

The boys let out a deep sigh. It was all so sudden that they had to talk about the matter, seeing that they were all getting along really well. It was just like the old times…

"You know, Link? I really trust him now. I think we should tell him the truth."

"Well… I don't think I can say it without getting him hurt…"

"Maybe you could just 'show' him." replied Dark. "Remember those days? It was then that I… helped him make a fool of himself…"

Dark bowed his head down in guilt. The hero immediately knew what Dark was talking about.

"Hey come now… you were under his influence back then…"

"It was all thanks to you that I became well again… thanks to you guys…"

Dark became shaky again. He could recall those days two years back, when he decided to help conquer Hyrule and kidnapping Princess Zelda.

"… If you gave me a chance… why can't you give HIM a real chance?"

"…"

"…I really feel so guilty right about now, Link… it's like you, or us… we helped each other beat him up because of the monstrosity that emerged from him. But it was a good thing that we did it, or else he wouldn't have been saved now… but…"

Dark let out a sigh. He hesitated for a moment, and then continued to speak.

"…But I have been restored to this world a year ago. It was because of her."

"Her? You don't mean…"

"Yes. Thanks to her ancient mirror in the treasury that possessed as much power as the dark mirror, I have returned to this world. Her mirror was so ancient that it attracted a lot of forces. I was strong enough to warp through it once more."

"And then you and I met for the second time…"

"… And then I accepted light into my life at last."

"So that mirror in your room…"

"…It's the real thing. I kept the restored dark mirror in my room for safekeeping. Seeing that it's restored again, I think it will be a commotion if I let it out in the public, don't you think?"

The two looked at each other. What a past it has been for the both of them… the mirror…

"But how did you…"

"Guys?"

It was Vaati who apparently had just woken up on from his doze. He still held the cucco in his pale yet warm arms as he yawned and smiled at the two.

The two decided to stop talking about the serious matter for a while and then turned to Vaati. They came closer to him and went inside of the house. The sun was going to set soon…

As night fell…

"It's the leaning tower of cheez-a! Check it, uh-huh!" said Dark, forming a tower of cream cheese and cheese slices on his plate.

"Quit playing with your food, Dark…" said Link, giving himself a facepalm. Vaati didn't mind at all, he just looked at Dark with those innocent-looking eyes as he ate his dinner with everyone else-double cheese pizza.

"That's totally gross, Dark! Piling cheese on your pizza slice… You're going to eat that?"

"NOM!" Dark started gobbling his tower like Godzilla, gluttonously chomping down to his plate, as if he really is the creature. "Scrump-tioouuuus~"

Link let out a grunt and gave himself another facepalm. Vaati just stared at them - pizza was too delicious to let up! They continued having a hearty meal and then fixed the table afterwards, as much as Dark hates to clean up after doing something. The dishes were washed and wiped clean by Link, the table was neatly arranged by Vaati, and the floor full of cheese splatters was cleaned by Dark.

As they went upstairs to Link's room just to enjoy sleeping on an empty stomach, Dark had an idea. The three finally reached the room and laid down on their bed and sleeping bags.

"Hey guys… how's about we… sleep in one bed? The three of us?"

"What? The? HECK." Link gave out a disagreeable face. "I mean seriously, Dark. What the Farore."

"Blasphemy!" shouted Dark as he pointed at him with a goofy smile.

"Sorry. What the F…"

"OOOO-kaaayyyy~ Please do be aware that Vaati's here."

"You get the weirdest ideas…"

The shadow merely smiled. He stood up and picked Link up without warning. He forced him to lie down on his own bed and then he followed after. The two Links sandwiched Vaati, the light on the mage's left, and the dark on the right. The boy with the ever-so innocent scarred face still held the cucco in his warm hands as he tried to turn to look at the fish in the portable aquarium that glows with different hues on top of the TV shelf, just beside the telly itself.

"What-EVER." scowled Link, but he did not turn away. Instead, he only closed his eyes and tried getting to sleep to forget about the matter. The bed WAS big enough for the three of them, but it was just impractical since the three of them have their own individual sleeping stuff ready and available for use. Dark enjoyed the idea, once again ticking Link off and getting to be beside Vaati… or was that his agenda?

Vaati was the last to sleep, and he noticed that Dark kept on touching him. He was utterly bothered by this as he wasn't used to anyone laying a finger on him. But then, he realized not long after that Dark was trying to grasp for his cucco! Yes, Dark seemed to enjoy himself as he touched Vaati's stuffed animal.

"The warm… toasty… fur… -snoooooooooooooooooooooooore !- " Dark continued rubbing the cucco's warm, downy cloth.

_'Oh, dear…'_ Vaati almost giggled, but he tried to keep it to himself. It was very hard, but he managed.

It was a rough night for the boys since Vaati is the type to roll on his bed restlessly like a log, Link was the type that doesn't want anyone beside him in a bed, and Dark was just plain himself.

Finally, it was morning again for the boys; late morning at that. Link opened his eyes and looked around, finding that the sun was already shining brightly outside. He looked at his friends…

"…"

Link immediately reached for a camera and took a picture of them.

"Nothing like a picture of two boys trying to wrestle in their sleep… I'm sure Zelda would be happy to see this…" said Link as he gave out a mischievous smile.

_'REVEEEEEENGE~!'_

Vaati was the next one to wake up. He looked up and tried to stretch, but as he came to… he saw that Dark slumped on him. He tried pushing Dark aside, for not only did it feel totally awkward, but Dark was beginning to drool on him. Yep, that's Dark for you. You'd have to get his pillows cleaned everyday.

Vaati heard a grunt coming from on top of him. The shadowy boy slowly opened his crimson eyes and tried to make out what he was lying on.

_'It's soft… but in a different way… it's not the fluffy cucco that I wanted to get from…'_

He then looked at what was sprawling under him. He saw that he was pinning Vaati's hands and…

"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUU..." he immediately got up from the bed.

"… A… ahhh…" Vaati didn't know what to do or say upon seeing Dark react. _'Goodness… what a wake-up call for the both of us…. if Master were here… he'd totally kill the both of us…'_

"YOU SET US UP, DIDN'T YOU LINK?!" yelled Dark at Link furiously.

"Hey, of course not! I mean, I could set you up but… not Vaati." smiled Link cunningly. "You know what? I think I wanna show this to the princess… you know, she brought her laptop along to their vacation house."

"DON'T YOU DARE…" glared Dark at Link, slowly inching his way towards the hero.

"Link… you're… you're not serious… right…?" said Vaati, almost pleading judging by his voice.

"Yeah, Link." Dark crossed his arms and began to smile, knowing that he's got Vaati's side.

"…" Link was totally cornered. "… O-Of course not…" said Link sheepishly.

Dark let out his boisterous laughter. He knows that yet again, Link hasn't completely won against him in their little game of ticking each other off. The hero simply shrugged, for he wished that Dark won't see him ticked off. But what's this? Vaati seemed to be looking for something…

"H-Hey, guys… where's Robin?" asked the boy with the long hair.

"I thought you slept with him." said Link with a confused face.

"Yeah, I know… but I can't find him anywhere!" Vaati seemed to be slightly looking at Dark.

"H-Hey, don't look at me!" said Dark, very defensive about it.

"Dark… you did seem like you always wanted to borrow the toy." Link said, almost scolding him.

"Y-Yeah, but… w-wait, that's not what I meant! I didn't take it!"

"Yeah? But I thought that you liked its 'toasty fur'… come on, I heard you sleep-talking. It gave me a hard time to sleep. I was half-awake the whole time with you guys."

"What are you saying?!"

"Nothing. I just wondered if it was your type. Like that beautiful frilly parasol."

"Wha… you want that parasol stuck up to your nose?!'"

Vaati started to laugh again. It was the first time he heard someone talk so harshly yet so funny at the same time. This time, his laughter was almost too contagious that it also got Link and Dark laughing with him even louder than the last time.

"Ahahaha! Ooh… that killed me…" Vaati said, wiping the tears out of his eyes.

"Oh, my silly alter ego…" said Link, looking at Dark.

Dark scoffed as he turned his back on his alter ego. Link was smiling until he saw Vaati desperately looking for the cucco again. He searched under the bed, on top of the shelves, inside the cd racks which looked like cabinets, in the closet with seemingly endless tunics…

"Nothing…" Vaati stopped looking and appeared hopeless. "… Where could he be…?"

Link looked at the poor boy and felt sorry for him. He couldn't imagine what joy that little cucco brought to the pale boy. He looked at Dark again. This time, Dark was facing him, looking serious, but didn't look angry about how Link teased him from before.

"Don't worry, Vaati… we'll find him for you." assured Link.

The two Links went out of the room for the search. Vaati stayed and looked at the fish. The two were still swimming restlessly, as if they were chasing each other. _'As if you will really do that… no, wait! What was I thinking?!'_

"You guys didn't happen to see Robin… did you?" said Vaati, his head resting on his arms on top of the table. His melancholy mood seemed to affect the two fish as well.

The two stopped. "Nope, sorry." they said, almost in unison.

Now the Minish people had the special skill to communicate with animals. Even in his Hylian form, Vaati still maintained his skill. He talked with the fish again, sad and desperate in tone.

"Aww… now, now… don't cry, you'll find him!" assured the white fish.

"Come to think of it… I think I did see him…" said the black fish.

Vaati seemed to be lightened up and excited. "Where? WHERE?"

"Whoa, take it easy there! I'm just not sure about this, okay?" the fish said. The other fish looked at his companion.

"What? I never saw the cucco!"

"Well, I did. I saw you walk out the door, but you never came back." the black one told Vaati. "I was wondering where you went, but when I looked at your bed, you were still there as if nothing happened."

Vaati was paused. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. But sadly… the fish didn't seem to be lying. He couldn't let out his opinion on the matter.

"Absurd." said the white one.

"I'm telling the truth! I DID see it! You know that we never sleep! Hey, how come you didn't see it?"

"I was inside the castle." it pointed at the small castle in the aquarium.

"Riiiiight…"

"I gotta go, guys." Vaati said. He was unsure of what to think…. but he half-believed it. He left the room, searching for every nook and corner in the house. He looked at the clock… it was already nearing twelve noon. They had to prepare their lunch, or in their case "brunch".

_'Oh, come on… you know that those guys were up to something…'_ Vaati shook his head. _'No… I must not think of such things…'_

Link and Dark were outside in the terrace, once again. It was like yesterday, the two of them talking by the garden set, looking at the front yard. It was a beautiful day, the sun was shining brightly, the clouds were all white and fluffy, the leaves are swaying with the gentle breeze… it was a nice day, indeed. But no sign of the cucco everywhere.

"Where could that doll be?" wondered Link.

"Dunno."

"It couldn't just disappear, you know." Link said, once again looking at Dark. He was standing just beside his chair, as if he was currently on a look-out for the cucco.

"Are you accusing me? Link…" Dark was almost annoyed by Link. But he seemed to be bothered not only by the matter but… something else. "Link, I have to tell you something."

"What?" Link almost knew what Dark was about to say: a confession that he hid the cucco doll. By this time, Dark looked at him yet again with those eyes - those eyes that never fool.

"Link… I felt something strange last night." said Dark, in a firm tone.

Link gave out a quizzical look. He knew that Dark wasn't fooling this time, so he decided to take a seat and listen to Dark's side. Dark seemed to be a lot troubled by something… and he wanted to know why. Dark wasn't the type to be bothered by something, not even the gossip people bothered him. In fact, he never saw dark so bothered in his life.

"Tell me." said Link in a quiet tone.

Dark stopped for a while; he was thinking of the words to say. A sigh was then released from his shadowy lips.

"Link… something felt wrong last night. Remember? We were sleeping together…" Dark hesitated to continue.

"Yeah?" Link began to be annoyed. He dared not recall their horrible night sleeping uncomfortably in his seemingly cramped bed which can only hold up until two people.

"Link… Vaati… he…" Dark sighed again. "Vaati took the doll away…"

"What?!" said Link, hearing such unbelievable words from Dark. _'What are you, nuts? Vaati worried like crazy over this doll and now you pin the blame on him?!'_ "Maybe he's just sleepwalking?" suggested Link, but still not believing Dark.

"No… he was conscious…" Dark shook his head. "He was fully conscious at that time, and he did go out of the room. I saw him…"

The black-haired boy let out a sigh once again. He was deeply troubled over the matter.

"Just tell me everything, Dark." Link said, all attentive and ready to listen.

"… Link… when I turned to my side, I didn't see YOU. I saw him… I saw him go out of the room while he was sleeping there on the bed!"

Link was startled. _'What could he mean? What's going on?!'_

"Link… I think that was his shadow… and I think he's come for more…"

"Dark…"

"He still wants me to help him… like I did him, resurrecting and freeing him from the curse of the Dark Mirror…"

"But Dark… that was all in the past now…"

"I know…" said Dark, covering half his face with his hand, his arms resting on the table of the garden set. "I know… and I didn't always have black hair and red eyes…"

As Dark put his hand away, he revealed his baby blue eye, and the hair that was also partially covered by the hand turned into a shadowy shade of purple. Part of his skin that was also covered by his hand turned into fair skin tone. He looked at Link again, and Link looked at him back.

"It's been a while since I looked like this..."

".. and it's been a while since I called you Shadow…"

"Link… I dunno if I can keep this any longer…" Shadow said, reverting into his newer self with the red eyes. "Let's tell Vaati everything…"

Link gave it a deep thought. He knows that everything was tangled up. _'Just what happened here? The cucco… that Vaati clone… Shadow's true feelings…'_

He filled up his mind with such thoughts, completely absorbed by it. It was a long pause, and only the rustling of the leaves with the winds could be heard.

"… I guess we need to tell him, then… I guess he needs to know that we really know him beforehand… maybe he can help us out on this one…"

Dark smiled wryly, he then moved his head around to avoid stiffness… but when he looked to his right… he suddenly froze. Link was puzzled why Dark or "Shadow", suddenly looked on to one side and stopped, as if he's seen a ghost.

"Hey Dark…" Link, being across Dark, looked to his left…

Link's mouth was left agape as he saw that their miserable friend was just there, standing by the glass door leading to the terrace. He was trembling as he stared at them, and the two Links were shocked to see him just standing there. The silence was almost deafening; no one dared to break it until…

"… Listen… V-Vaati… we never…" Link tried to explain.

"… You mean to tell me that you never forgot me…? …You guys were just… pretending that you forgot me…?" Vaati interrupted; the warm tears forming in his eyes. He bowed his head down as he leaned onto the glass door beside him, still trembling.

"… Vaati, it wasn't like that. We really had fun being with you, your friends…"

"… You guys just toyed with me, didn't you? … You just tested me if I really turned good… You just faked your forgetfulness!" sobbed Vaati loudly, covering his face with his hands. "You faked being my friends…"

"H-Hey!" said Dark, talking back. "Sure we faked forgetting about you, but we didn't fake our friendship!"

"Yeah, but why the bloody hell…" Vaati suddenly remembered something. He lifted his head to look at them. "… So that's why you dared me to wear that hat… that horrendous sorcerer's wishing cap…"

"W-Wait! You also faked your forgetfulness, then?!" shouted Dark from his seat. He felt furious about the matter.

"That doesn't change anything…" snapped Vaati.

"It does! You're just as bad as we are then!"

"Dark, stop it." said Link in an unusually deep tone. "He's right. If he did something bad… it doesn't change the fact that we also did him wrong…"

Dark was stopped at his words and just stared at Link, who was staring at the Hylian-Minish as we speak. So this was it. The moment of truth for the three of them.

"I can't believe you guys… I thought I seriously made friends with you… I thought that we would never have to face the past… four years ago…" Vaati turned to Dark. "… And two years ago…"

Dark stared into Vaati's eyes. The Minish didn't seem to be afraid of eye contact anymore and also stared sharply into the shadow's eyes, though you can never wipe out the mildness and the sadness that lingered in those eyes. A long pause once again crossed them…

Vaati let out a lot more tears of sadness and pain then ran away from their sight. The hero stood from his chair and reached his hand out, as his alter ego stayed shocked in his seat.

"V-Vaati, wait!" he shouted to his former enemy. He immediately ran after the boy, with Dark tailing him. The two chased the Minish as he headed for the town. Unfortunately for them, there were a lot of people in the crowd, and they just lost him. They could not proceed for the crowd was unbearable… a new fashion attraction visited them from another faraway town.

"Drat!" exclaimed Link with so much frustration as they retreated back to their house. As they arrived, Dark talked to Link, this time his eyes filled with worry. "Link… did you see what I just saw…?"

"A fashion attraction? Get real."

"No… when Vaati ran away…" Dark recalled. "… I saw something black… and red… Link, we gotta go after him right now, no matter what!" He insisted, grabbing Link's shoulders and shaking him. "Please…"

He looked at Link, pleading.

"… Of course." Link just knew that something was up.

"Link, tell me… are there mirrors in the forest?"

_'What are you talking about?'_ "Er… I don't believe so." _'Why would there be mirrors in the forest?'_

Dark played his shadow ocarina, and at once, he summoned his pet eyeball; just as Link summons his transportation bird in his previous adventures on a quest against his now lost friend. Dark handed a fairly big mirror to his pet and whispered something to it before it flew away.

"Come Link, bring me to your mirror." said Dark, tugging Link by the arm going into the house.

_'What the heck…'_ thought Link as he didn't fight back.

They soon approached the mirror in the living room. "Link… remember that night when I scared the heck outta you? There was a blackout back then…"

Link tried to recall that night… _'Blackout…darkness… … … … rain, lightning… ghost story… … MIRROR.'_

He immediately snapped back to reality. He looked at Dark again, half-merged in the mirror.

"I confess Link," said Dark, with only his upper body showing, reaching out his hand for Link's. "I did that. I did it… through this."

Link just stared at his friend… he can't believe that this was happening. "Come on," said the shadow to his master. "Grab my hand, and we'll be where we need to be."

Link slowly reached for Dark's hand, and before how knew it, he was in a different place. He looked around… the place was cold and humid, there were bluish green plants everywhere, the grass had dew on them, and there were lilies and logs scattered about.

_'This… is this…?'_

"This is why I asked you if there were mirrors in the forest," said Dark. They both looked below them. There was a mirror just beneath them, losing its entire glow and returning to normal. They exchanged glances. They were finally in the Minish Woods, in just a flash.

"Let's find him. Remember the way?" asked the shadow hero.

Link tried to recall everything… he knows that he needed to do something first… then he flinches. He remembered something crucial. "Dark… get that wishing cap… I'll be waiting for you here…"

Meanwhile… the purple Hylian returned to his home, and he was now back to his original form, a Picori; a Minish. He ran all throughout the village finding his home and crying so hard. This caught the attention of many Picori in his place, but it was not that they really cared about it.

"Master… MASTER!" he cried, while running towards his home. When he finally approached their door, he shakily and rapidly knocked on the door. He then continued crying, hiding his face in his small hands.

"Who goes the- Vaati?" the door opened to reveal an elderly Minish in a jade sagely robe. With a staff in hand, he stepped closer to the young Minish. "What happened? Your clothes… what are these clothes?"

He stared at Vaati as he was still wearing his Hylian clothes.

"M-Master Ezlo…"

"Shhh… there, there…" the elder accompanied the youngster in anguish to his house.

Vaati was taken upstairs to his room, a fairly wide space enough for one. The walls were woody and all the accessories and furniture were mostly made out of wood, cloth, and leaves, perfected into sturdy structures. The young Picori was still crying as he sat on his bed. He grabbed his pillow tightly and buried his teary face in it.

"Stay here." Ezlo gently said to his apprentice. "I'll make a potion to make you feel better." He patted Vaati's back softly, slightly ruffled his hair, and then went downstairs to make his concoction.

_'… Maybe you should've just given them another chance… after all; they willingly became your first friends…'_

_**'Willingly? Yeah, right… if faking is called "willingly", so be it.'**_

Vaati looked around with his teary ruby eyes. He saw no one; he was all alone in his room. He buried his head in the pillow once more.


	7. Chapter 7: From Deep Within

**Chapter 7: From Deep Within…**

Dark came out from the mirror in the Minish Woods which was still laid on the ground. It was as if he just came out of a swimming pool, grabbing onto the mirror's edges. He spotted Link near one of the fallen logs of the forest. With the magical cap in hand, he approached Link, who never turned back to look at him.

"Hey Link. I got it."

"Dark… look at this."

Link turned around that made Dark's eyes widen and his mouth agape. What Link was holding in his hands… was the stuffed cucco, Robin. It got a bit dirty due to the forest's dust and mud, but it can easily be rubbed off.

"Link, where'd you get him?" said Dark, not knowing whether he should be happy or baffled.

"I found him right here, on this trunk over here."

Dark still looked a bit bewildered, but he tried his best to shrug it off. He knew that there was something they both needed to go to… and fast! He returned the cucco back to Link's house, then settled himself to their plan.

Link stepped on the tree trunk and told Dark to get on it as well. It was a bit hard getting the both of them standing on it, but they did succeed. The hero took his trademark cap off and put on the wishing cap. He then started to utter strange words-magical words, which made the tree trunk glow and give off a mystical aura. As Link was still saying those words, Dark could totally feel himself getting a "pre-transformation".

_'Here goes…'_thought Dark.

They both shrank in Minish size, landing right inside the trunk's hole and onto the mushroom caps below. The trunk seemed utterly huge now in their point of view, seeing that it looked almost as big as a condominium.

"All right, let's go!" said Link, almost in a commanding voice.

"Wait…" said Dark, pulling Link's arm before he could move away. Link gave him a quizzical look, and so he pointed at one point in the trunk.

"What th…"

"I know, right? Looks like he was here."

From where the exit should have been was a pile of stones and mud. It looked hard to remove with just their bare hands.

"Well, Link? Got any bright ideas?"

"I think I do."

As the two were trying to work their way out of it, the Picori remained in his room, still melancholy about the whole incident, almost not moving a muscle. He still buried his face in his pillows and was finally dressed up in proper Minish attire.

_'Why…? When I finally thought that I made new friends… why…?'_

**_'Ignorant fools, they shouldn't have treated me this way.'_**

Vaati was once again startled. He glanced around his room again, and still found no one but himself; sitting lonely in that little room of his. He felt a slight panic in his chest. He pretended not to hear it and buried himself in the pillows once more.

_'I wonder if it's because of me… I'm always wrong, aren't I…? I always get that remark from other people…'_

**_'Which is why they should die…'_**

This time, he was certain that he heard it. It was getting clearer, and nearer. He found it familiar, somehow… that voice…

_'I… I swear I heard that voice before…'_

**_'Foolish boy, of course you have.'_**

He looked around frantically. He must be hiding somewhere!

_'What in the world…?! What's going on? How could he read my mind?!'_

**_'Haven't you figured it out yet?'_**

The young Minish still searched everywhere… his closet full of books, clothes, and leaves; the cabinets which contained most of his precious belongings, under his bed… nothing.

**_'Why search for me?'_**

"Listen, whoever you are, I... I don't know who you are!" shouted Vaati with that small voice of his.

**_'Look at your face in the mirror…'_**

Vaati turned his head to his right where his full-body mirror stood.

**_'…I am there inside.'_**

What Vaati saw froze him in his tracks. A faded black figure appeared in the mirror just beside him, and it had red eyes as well! It was fairly petite, with short hair… as it was becoming a bit clearer for him to make out; it gave him quite the shock of his life.

**_'Now do you recognise me?'_**

Vaati wanted to scream, but he could not. There was just too much fear and shock that he could not bear it.

Just there beside the young Minish… was himself!

The shadow represented an exact image of him, only with a shadowy aura around it. It appeared to take the Minish form, as Vaati was currently in the said appearance.

"Now do you know why I'm telepathic?" said the shadow with an evil smile. Its voice sounded like it came from the well; with a slight eerie echo. It was small like his own, but raspy and evil in tone.

The Minish's mouth was left agape; he could not believe what was happening. There, before him, was an image of himself in the shadows!

The Picori finally gathered enough courage to talk. "W-what are you?!"

The shadow let out an exasperated sigh. "How weak… Don't you get it? I'm you from the Shadow World."

The shadow stared piercingly into his light self's eyes. He slowly inched his way towards himself, which was almost consumed with fear and disbelief.

"Come…"

The door suddenly opened.

"Vaati, I made the potion that should make you feel bett-"

Ezlo was carrying the potion he had just brewed, but was halted upon seeing his apprentice… in two forms! He was so shocked that he almost let the potion slip in his hands, but he managed to tighten his grip on it and bravely confronted the shadow.

"What ARE you? Who ARE you?!" he shouted at the shadow.

"Oh, Master…" it replied. "Do not you recognise your own apprentice, dear master?"

"You are NOT my apprentice! What are you scheming?!"

The shadow merely laughed at this. He bowed his head down and darkness began to consume his petite Minish body. Ezlo could swear that he saw the shadow slowly morph into a taller figure… into a silhouette… of a human.

"Master, do you now believe me?" said the shadow, now in its Hylian form. Its eyes were unlike its owner's; they were fiery crimson red and piercing, unlike the mild, ruby-red eyes its owner has. He radiated an aura of darkness, while Vaati had radiance of kindness. He wore that outfit of which Vaati once wore when he conquered Hyrule, except… he doesn't have that hat.

Ezlo stood frozen. Is he seeing double? There are two of them, and both of them are his disciple!

"Very well… I really do not have time for this…" Shadow Vaati glared at his master with evil eyes. His lips formed a wicked smile. He then pointed his finger at his master, eager to cast a spell.

Ezlo closed his eyes and bowed his head, hoping his apprentice would do something horrible with his spells, but…

"Curses!"

He looked up and saw that nothing had happened. He looked at his hands, his feet, he was perfectly fine… he was still in his good old sage robe, and his beard still overflowed to the ground.

"I still lack power… you got lucky this time, Master Ezlo." he said, with the last words trailing off to sarcasm. He looked at his light self, trembling in fear. He swiftly came up to himself and knocked his poor Minish self out.

The shadow grabbed his unconscious alter ego and looked at the window.

"Until we meet again… Master." he smirked, then transformed into a monster. The monster was of spherical form; it grew three pairs of wings on both its sides and grew large tentacles. One of the tentacles tightly held the poor Minish, completely binding its arms.

"V-Vaati!" shouted Ezlo. He rushed for the monster hoping to save his pupil, but it was too late. The monster jumped off the window.

Ezlo looked down, trying so hard to find the monster with his only pupil. Before he knew it, a sudden burst of wind passed by from below him with a blackish purple blur. As he looked up to the sky to see what it was; he saw the shadow flying away with his apprentice farther… farther…

…until there was no more…

It was all too quick. Seeing that Vaati wasn't in sight anymore, he rushed downstairs to find help. He went outside of his home/magic workshop. He ran around town screaming for help. "HELP! VAATI'S IN DANGER! HEEELP!"

Though he was already screaming at the top of his lungs, no one responded to him. He went everywhere in the town, but no one was there for help.

Just as he was going to give up, he saw that all the Picoris were gathered in one place, and they seemed to be crowding something.

"What on earth?" Ezlo decided to check it out, keeping in his mind that he was to get some Minish to help him.

He could hear the random Minish squeal and murmur in excitement. The sage couldn't pass through the mob of people, and they didn't seem to mind him at all.

"Now see here!" he said with a very commanding tone. "Make way for your elders!"

"Ohmigosh, I can't believe it's him!"

"Who's that guy with him?"

"Dunno, but he looks cool!"

"I wanna get his swirly hat!"

"I wanna get my hands on him!"

"May I get your autograph?"

"OOOH, AUTOGRAPH PLEASE!"

"Wait… hold off, guys…"

"Hm? That voice… sounds familiar." said Ezlo to himself.

"Cut it out, people! Hey hands OFF the hat, kid!" said a similar voice, but harsher and a bit deeper in tone. "ACK! For the love of…"

"Say guys… could you help us? We're here to see Ezlo." said the kinder tone.

The Minish people, almost all at the same time, turned to Ezlo and gave him stares… eerie, intent stares.

"W-what?" said the elderly magician, almost creeped out by the people's sudden reaction. He backed away slowly, but…

One of the Picori caught the sage and passed him from one person to another, pretty much like what audience does in a concert when their favorite idol stage dives in a concert.

"Put me DOWN!" demanded the wizard. He wriggled his arms, hoping to knock some little heads of the youngsters who carried him. He did, but that didn't stop them from carrying him in a wave of Picori!

"I said…" as he was about to say another word, they dropped him to the ground carelessly, face down. He sprawled on the dusty ground, which was filled with rocks and dirt alike.

"There you go!" said one of the youngsters.

Ezlo was obviously irritated at this. Why, have they gone mad? Treating their elders like that…

_'I swear I'll turn you all into frogs one day… and no princess can save you.'_ Ezlo scoffed as he tried to get himself up. As he tried to, someone stepped right in front of him. _'Boots… can it be?!'_

He looked up hoping to see the hero, but…

"Hey old man, I see that you haven't changed. How's the old bag doing?"

"Huh… what?! Now see here, mister! That's Master Ezlo for you!" said Ezlo, pointing his staff at the young teen. "Who are you, anyway, to utter such insolent words?!"

"Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! I forgot just how cute you were! Heeheehee! Ah… I mean…" the black-haired youngster stuttered. He just slapped the elder's back so hardly it made the poor old man choke.

"Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahah ahahahahahahahahaha!" he laughed, almost dying from it.

"NOW SEE HERE!" he said, attempting to strike the teenager with his stick.

"Hey, Ezlo."

Ezlo turned to the direction of the other voice.

"LIIIIIINK!"

"EZLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOO~!"

The Minish-sized Hylian practically dived at the Minish sage. Ezlo embraced him ever so tightly, but he countered it with an equally strong hug.

The shadow Hylian just stared at the both of them. _'Okaaaay… that was a sappy greeting… yep, that's my light self for ya.'_

"Okay, okay Link. Stop it now." said Ezlo.

"Hahaha! Okay, okay…" said Link, letting go of his elderly Minish friend.

As he got free, Ezlo glared back at the other Minish just looking at them. They began to back away slowly as he made his way through them.

"Come along." called out Ezlo to the foreign youngsters.

They followed Ezlo through the crowd that opened for them, but not completely.

"Make way!" commanded Ezlo as he hit his staff's end on the ground.

The people became scared and made way for them, separating the crowd into two just wide enough for them to go through.

"…And Moses erects his staff to split the seas into two…" whispered Dark, snickering behind Link's back.

As they went on, there was an unusually small Minish in their way. Ezlo did not mind him, of course, because he was one of the child Minish. But, this little Picori was in Dark and Link's way as he just stared up to them with a smile of certain joy. His eyes gleamed seeing the hero and the anti-hero with him and seemed to want some attention from the both of them.

"Like, we really need to go. So could we please pass?" said Dark, trying to be as courteous and friendly as possible.

The little Minish did not budge.

"Hmmm…" Link gave it some thought. Now he knows how to make the young child happy. "Would you mind taking care of this for me?" he said, giving his green cap to the little kid.

Upon receiving the cap in his hands, the young Picori squealed with joy and scurried off to his home. "Mommy, mommy! I got the hero's hat!"

Dark smiled wryly. "You know that you're never getting that back."

Link just chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I got a spare."

He opened one of his pocket bags and pulled out an extra hat for him to wear.

As they arrived in the house, Ezlo locked the doors to avoid any other commotion. A sigh escaped from his lips, and he settled down in the living room where the two stayed. Link sat courteously on one of the cushioned chairs; Dark on the other hand, laid himself comfortably on the couch, popping a candy in his mouth that seemed to come from the candy pile on the table.

"What flavor IS this?" said Dark, his face revealing mixed emotions.

"Dew." replied the elder, obviously bothered by the teen.

"Tastes like water."

"Naturally."

Ezlo sat on his rocking chair. He was apparently puzzled and bothered.

"So, what brings the two of you here? I'm sure it's not just because you 'wanted to crash', as you young Hylians say."

Link looked at Dark. Dark gave him a signal to go on ahead and tell him everything.

"… Well, you see…"

Link narrated everything, as Ezlo listened with full attention. After narrating, Ezlo brushed his beard in thought, deeply troubled by the situation.

"Now I know everything."

"C-come again?" said Link, puzzled by his words.

"You see, I also needed your help."

"Yep. Remember Link… you've got a curse on you. Before you can progress in your life, you must do a heck lotta stuff for the villagers so you can proceed and get on with your life. That's how it always goes." smiled Dark. "Btw, love the dew-flavored mint. Gotta be the most unique thing in my life. Could I please take some more?"

"Whatever." was the only reply of the elder.

"What was that 'help' that you spoke of?" asked Link.

"Ah, yes. You see…" Ezlo tried to think of better words to say, but of course, how could he? "Vaati was kidnapped."

"What the friggin fu-"

"Okaaay!" said Link, covering Dark's mouth before he could say anything else in front of Ezlo, who had a really bad impression on him. "I can't believe it! How long has it been?!"

"-mmmmmmmph!-" Dark tried to get himself free of Link's grasp.

"Not long before you came, I'm afraid." Ezlo replied with remorse. "If only I were younger, I would've acted on my own right away, but…"

"-mmmmmmmmppppppppppppphhhhhhh h!-" Dark was struggling violently, but Link had a strong grip on him; it was no use. He then stopped struggling then just sat down quietly.

Now Ezlo looked at him, in relief that he finally calmed down.

_'That's weird…'_thought Link. Dark's eyes were smiling evilly. He then realized that he felt something funny. His hand felt like something was moving in it… something wet and-

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

From outside, people suddenly stared at the house.

"Shhhh! You'll attract attention!" warned Ezlo in a whisper.

"Eww, eww, eww, eww, EWW!"

"BUAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA AAA!"

Dark then turned to Ezlo who glared at him.

"I dislike you with great intensity." was all he could utter at the youth.

"Hahahaha! Well, seriously speaking…" Dark then sat comfortably on the couch, his legs crossed in a masculine manner. "You say he was kidnapped? By whom?" he continued, playing with the candy in his mouth.

"I know this is hard to believe but…"

Dark listened attentively; looking at the Minish while he sat cozily. Link just came back from the kitchen. His hands dripping wet.

"Sorry, I just HAD to wash my hands."

"… He was kidnapped by… by HIMSELF!"

"WHAT?!" shouted Link in shock. "Man, how could this happen?!"

"I know, and I shan't blame you if you don't believe me…"

"I see." said Dark, sitting in an upright position. "Master, I do not find that hard to believe."

Dark stood up and looked around. He then came closer to a wall in the room, where a full-body mirror hanged.

"Do you ever wonder of who I really am, Master? I know you, but you know not me."

"Who are you, anyway? You look just like the hero, but still different. Are you, mayhap, his evil twin?"

Dark thrusts his hand in the mirror. Ezlo was alarmed seeing him force the mirror like that.

"Now see h-" he suddenly froze.

"Yes?" Dark looked at him. Ezlo was just left in a stare. This was because the arm of the youngster was half-way inside the mirror! "I know, right? Is this how that kidnapper came through here?"

"I… I don't know… how did you…?"

"Enough talk. We need to make our immediate move, Link!" he shouted. His face was contorted in both anger and worry.

"Of course."

"B-but what can we do?" asked the Minish, obviously confused by the whole situation.

"Link, Ezlo… just follow me." he walked right inside the mirror. The two exchanged glances, but they both decided to trust in the shadow and follow him. They did, indeed, enter the mirror. And when they did…

"Where are we?" asked the Minish.

Link looked around. This was where the three youngsters first met! It was the treasury of the Hyrule castle! He looked at Ezlo, then at himself. _'W-we're human-sized? H-how…? Did Ezlo just transform all of us without knowing…?'_

"Let's go!" called out Dark from the corridor. The two followed him as fast as they could. They went downstairs, passed by different rooms, different portraits of the royal family, different corridors, but it was all going down.

Without noticing, they already went out of the palace, out of the town… and into the lush, mountainous meadows, remote from where they came from…

Then… Dark was brought in a sudden halt.

"Are… are we here…?" said Ezlo, panting hard. Link was also panting. His sweat was starting to be evident in his face as he bowed it down in exhaustion.

"Yes." replied Dark without looking back.

Upon hearing this, Link looked up to see where they were. His eyes widened as he finally recognized where they were…

"N-no kidding… Dark, is this necessary?"

"Yes…" he turned to look at Link. "Link, pull out that sword!"

"W-wha…"

Ezlo was trying to figure out what is so special about this room; it gave out such a holy and comforting aura. There was a stain glass behind the sword's pedestal that gave out a beautiful motif of a powerful orb. It could either be the sun, or the power of the fairies as described in its craftsmanship. Below it was the motif of an eye, with ancient designs and intertwined chains below it.

He looked again; there was a sword fixed in the pedestal, in the center of a circle formed by ancient bricks.

"Pull it out, Link." the black-haired boy called to him.

"B-But, Shadow…"

"Don't call me that in front of this sword."

Link looked at the sword with much tension, and as he brought his trembling hands to it, he found it hard to pull out the sword. He was all too nervous about the whole thing.

"D-Dark… do I really need to do it?"

Dark gave him a blank stare.

"No, no. You don't have to do it." he said, turning his back.

"R-really, now." Link was looking at the sword, kind of relieved by what Dark said.

"Haha, yeah. I can see very well that you don't give a damn about Vaati. Yeah, don't pull it out. Really." he said, waving his hands about in an annoyed manner.

"No, I DO care about him!"

"Then pull the friggin sword out so we can friggin go on with our friggin plan already!" commanded Dark in a shouting manner.

"B-but… if I pull this out, then the seal placed on the evil wind sorcerer Guf…" he stopped after hearing himself.

Dark rose a brow and just stared at Link.

This time, Link was determined. He looked at the sword in the pedestal once more and laid his left hand on the handle.

"It is I, o Four Sword, the hero of Hyrule,  
It is with your power that I saved the kingdom from looming threat.  
Now I am again in dire need of your help…  
So please… Four Sword…

LEND ME YOUR POWER!"

At that, Link pulled out the sword with full certainty and confidence and light shone from the sword. Dark and Ezlo could see a magical aura around him, and that there's a blur about him…

"W-what's going on here?" asked Ezlo, mystified by the whole incident.

"The Four Sword," replied Dark "is what is happening."

The two just watched the whole thing, slowly but surely they could see four figures from the clouds of mist and light emitted from the sacred sword. As the mist cleared up, they could see that there were different hues-green, red, blue, and violet.

"What on earth?!" Ezlo was completely confused.

Link stood there, looking at the other three figures that stood before him. Three FAMILIAR figures…

"W-wha…" said the one in red, looking at his surroundings. He looks at the boy in green and his eyes immediately gleamed with joy. "GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEN!"

The boy in red just leaped onto the original Link. He hugged him so hard, his blush getting pinkish red by the second.

"Hey, long time no see!" said Link.

"Heyy!" the boy in blue smiled, winking his eye at the one in green.

"I really missed everyone." smiled the one in violet mildly.

Ezlo was stupefied. All he could do was stare at Link: quadrupled, until he finally knew what to say about all of this.

"WHAT IN DIN'S NAME IS GOING ON?!"

"Whew, old dude totally freaking out." Dark tried to explain to the other four, smiling.

"Err… Green? Who's that?" pointed Blue.

"Oh, that's Ezlo. Wait, I'm surprised you didn't know about him! Aren't you guys with me all these times?" wondered Link, now nicknamed "Green".

"Well, we never did meet him in person before…" Vio, the one in violet, tried to reason out.

"Ummm… who cares?" Red dashed right in front of the confused Minish. "He's totally cute! I just want to huggle him!" he said, giving the Minish a tight hug while cuddling him.

"Put me down!" demanded Ezlo. "How utterly rude!"

"Well, he's a Minish." Green explained. "I'm sure you've heard tales about little people helping us Hylians out, right? He's one of them, in Hylian size."

"Amazing…" said Vio as he proceeded to where Red was holding onto Ezlo so tight. He began to examine Ezlo from head to toe, touching his hair, his beard, his ears… and staring directly at the Minish's eyes.

"What an interesting piece of specimen." uttered Vio, his left hand partly covering his mouth.

"Oh come on! I'm sure it's just a mascot!" shouted Blue, his arms crossed and his face etched with annoyance. "I can't believe that you still believe in those fairy tales!"

"Hey, fairies DO exist, you know?" debated Vio. "Annoying fairies at that…"

"Whatever! I say he's cute! May I take him home? Could he be my oh-so-darling pet?" Red turned his head to Green.

"Err…"

Ezlo whacks Red's head with his stick so hard, it sent Red on the floor. Red was left crying, sitting on the floor in such a girly manner. He looked up at Ezlo with teary eyes.

"That hurt…"

"I know." scoffed Ezlo, and then turned to Green Link again. "Link!"

"YES?" the four Links turned to Ezlo tad eagerly.

"Let's go back to our nicknames, guys." instructed Green. "Just to be safe."

"Alrighty! I'm Red!"

"I can see that." said Ezlo, in sarcasm. He gazed around looking at the four Links. They all seemed the same, and yet… different at the same time.

"Okay, do you guys know why we're at this?" asked Green to the other three.

"Of course. We're updated to whatever you're up to." Vio answered on their behalf.

"Vaati's kidnapped." Green said, as a briefing.

"That's good." remarked Blue.

"No, you don't get it! He's really nice now!" debated Green. He looked at them once again then continued. "I can't believe you didn't know that…"

"Well, there are times that we aren't active, but you'll know when!" smiled Red. He gave out that innocent, childish smile that always cheered everyone up. "Whenever you're in such a jolly mood, or those times that you played the Wii, I totally enjoyed that! That's me acting in you!"

"When you think, or do something without rushing and instead, using you LOGIC, that's me." informed Vio.

"And… whenever you're doing those cool stuff, like hunting down those chuchu, that's me for ya!" said Blue proudly.

"Oh really now, is that all?" commented Dark sarcastically at Blue as he approached the overconfident youngster. He gave out a smirk at him.

"Who the heck are you?" said Blue, annoyed by the black-haired youth.

"Don't you recognize me at all?" said Dark, looking at all of them. He especially stared at Vio with those crimson red eyes.

"Very well." Dark then transformed himself. His hair turned into a shadowy shade of violet, his skin turned a bit fairer, and when his cat eyes opened, they were baby blue. He looked at all the other Links. "Surprise."

"Sh-Shadow…?" Red remarked.

"I… I thought…" Vio was stunned, and was left staring at Shadow with widened eyes.

"'Tis me." he shrugged his shoulders. "And, Blue… going back…" He turned to Blue again. "Is that all? What about… when we went to the beach?"

"What are you talking about?" Blue shouted at him.

"Oh, nothing. It's just that… when we packed… all the things were so… orderly." smiled Shadow Link.

The other three turned to the blue Link and stared at him. It was as if their eyes were saying, "How absurd, yet how true…"

"H-hey! Don't look at me like that!" shouted Blue, in a stuttering manner. "The heck are you trying to pull?!"

"Nothing." said the shadow, shrugging his shoulders while smirking. "Do me a favor, will you?" he told everyone.

"Yes?" replied Vio.

"Let's get the heck outta here, and meet up in my place. Follow me."

The shadow pulled out his ocarina again, once again playing a familiar tune on it. His pet eyeball came back to him and landed right onto his arm like a raven perching on his master's arm. Upon landing, Dark gave a light kiss and gave a signal to go. _'You know what to do.'_

"That thing…" recalled Blue. "That… I thought we killed that thing off long ago…"

"Now that you know who I really am," Shadow said, stroking the mirror's surface. "You'd have to trust me."

The eyeball returned in no time at all, carrying with it a dusty mirror, one of which was in Shadow's possessions. He had kept mirrors in his house both as a collection and as a functional device for instances such as this. The mirror was laid onto the grassy surface. He stroked its cold surface and closed his eyes…

Vio looked at Shadow and tried to perceive what he was up to. Red, on the other hand, approached Shadow; very curious at what he was up to. He looked into the mirror, then getting absorbed in it and fixing himself.

It was then that Shadow looked at the childish Red and pushed him into the mirror, not leaving any trace of the boy. This left the other three Links in shock and disbelief.

"Dark-Shadow… dude, what was that all about?! Wha'd you do to him?!" shouted Green angrily.

"Well, why don't you find out?" Shadow smiled then merged in the mirror, with his ever-so mysterious expression, looking like he was dazing at a distance.

"CHAAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!" Blue barged in the mirror and vanished.

"Blue!" shouted Green then he ran after him inside.

"Green!" yelled Vio as he reached out his hand, but it was too late. It was only him and the Minish left inside the treasury. He turned to the elder who was just holding onto his staff and stroking his beard while staring at the ancient mirror.

"Well, wouldn't you want to go after them, my young one?" Ezlo said, not giving any eye contact to the boy in purple.

Vio became determined. He ran into the mirror hesitantly and closed his eyes.

When he came to and opened his eyes once more, he was in a room. The room was monochrome; it seemed so modern and tad gloomy, but it was cozy to put up with. There was an air conditioner near the window with black blinds, a black laptop on the elegant white bed and pillows, covered by a white blanket and a soft black comforter. There was a black table lamp on the side table drawer, just next to the study table of which another operating system stayed. Apparently, whoever owned this room must've loved gadgets a lot. A personal computer was fixed on the study table and the game gadgets sat on the carpeted floor and the bed.

"W-wow… this is quite the room to be in…" commented Vio, kneeling on the floor while observing the room he was in.

"Thank you." he heard a voice say. He turned to the direction of the voice and found Shadow Link, back to his recent form, Dark Link. His arms were crossed and his face was smiling at Vio.

"Now hurry up and follow me. They're all downstairs in my dining room." At that, Shadow - or Dark, turned his back on him and went down the stairs.

Vio looked at his back to see where he came from. _'N-no way…'_

He immediately recognized it… the Dark Mirror, all in one piece and no traces of any scratch. It was as good as new, stashed in the closet of which he came out from, unnoticeably. He took a good look at it closely and examined it. Meticulously, he checked out the mirror; he was right, there was no sign of any damage to it…

_'B-but how…?'_

He then felt a tap on his back. He turned to see what was causing this, and noticed the elderly Minish just standing behind him. He cleared his throat before saying anything.

"Shall we?" He stretched out his hand to assist the youth.

Vio stood up with Ezlo's help and then proceeded downstairs.

Upon reaching the lower floor, he saw that the guys were indeed all gathered at the dining table. It was a round table, with chairs just enough for the six of them, including the Minish. They all looked at the two latecomers and welcomed them to the table.

"Alright. Then this will be our meeting place!" Dark winked his eye at all of them.

"So, we gotta save Vaati, eh?" Blue started the conversation.

"Yeah, and to do that, we need to plan something." answered Green.

"So how exactly do we do it? We really need to know who or what kidnapped him!" Red raised his question.

"Well, Ezlo was a direct witness to this, so we better ask him." said Dark.

Ezlo was seated between the dark and the original light Link. They all listened to him attentively as he narrated everything.

"Well, we heard him. His shadow kidnapped his light self." elaborated Green.

"Shadow… then he can help us." quickly suggested Vio.

"You mean Shad… I mean, Dark?" clarified Red.

"You may call me however you're used to."

"I'm used to calling you Dark already, so we'll just stick with that." said Green.

The youngsters then plotted how to save Vaati. They laid out little symbols representing themselves with Vio and Dark as the head planners. Green oftentimes fills out the loopholes in their plans, and carries out with it.

"Well, that settles everything. So the original plan is - common sense. Be careful and expect the unexpected." summarized the leader, Green.

"Let's go and save him! He might be scared!" blurted out Red, filled with worry for the poor boy.

"Well, Dark? Do you suppose you could lead us there?" Vio asked Dark.

"What are shadows for?" smiled Dark. He stood from his seat and went to the stairs. He went upstairs to his room and closed the door shut.

The other Links were puzzled as to what he may be up to, walking away from them like that.

"D-did we hurt him, calling him a shadow?" asked Red with a sad, concerned face.

"Heck, no! He called HIMSELF a shadow!" the blue youth shouted. He was all angsty about Dark. In fact, he didn't like him much at all.

"Maybe we should follow him. Who knows what he's up to?" Vio suggested.

They followed him upstairs and soon heard funny noises coming from inside the room. They sounded like they were vacuum noises - sounds like something is sucking in something or emitting something.

"Dark… Dark!" shouted Green as he banged on the door.

"Yes?" he opened the door without delay. The sounds immediately stopped.

"What the… what the heck's going on in there?!" shouted Blue.

"Don't you know how to talk properly? Tone down your voice a little, whydon'tcha?"

"Why you little-!"

"Anyway, it's done. You can all go in now. Go ahead and destroy the sanctity of my room."

Dark let in everyone in his room. And what they saw in the middle of the monochromatic room was the Dark Mirror, all set with a portal within it. It showed motifs of psychedelic spirals that symbolize illusions of the Dark Realm.

"Ready whenever you guys are." informed Dark.

"Let's hurry and save my only apprentice!"

"RIGHT!" The five Links cried.

"All for one…" Green started.

"…And one for ALL!"

The four Links joined their left hands together. After some delay, there was an extra hand - a pale one at that. They all looked. Dark joined in, smiling at all of them.

"We're all in this together." he told all of them.

Green nodded. "Right."

Finally, the five Links are united in thought and actions. They were all strong-willed about the whole matter. They WILL and MUST save Vaati! They looked into the portal and wished themselves all the luck.

~Meanwhile…~

"U-uunnhhhh…"

Everything was black, but as soon as he regained consciousness, he soon found himself in a carpeted room. It seemed dark and empty, but there was enough light to make out a throne and a hanged mirror not far from it.

"W-where am I…?" he looked at his hands. They were not as small as they were anymore. "I…I'm Hylian again?"

Vaati looked around for anyone, but no one was there but him. He was certain that he wasn't alone, but he was also certain that no human being was there with him in that strange room.

However, there was a strange force that urged him to move forward. It wasn't of his own will; and all his body wanted to do was walk towards that mirror… closer… closer… and closer…

Before he knew it, he was in front of it. He didn't know what else to do. He just looked at himself - he was wearing his lush indigo tunic, his red cloth pants and those red leather sandals.

"Uhhh…. w-what's wrong with me…?" he felt weak all of a sudden and slumped sitting onto the floor. He managed to touch the mirror with his right hand. His palm was against its cold, smooth surface. He then looked up to see the mirror again. All he saw was himself, but then his image changed all of a sudden!

He realized that it was still him; it was still him in his Hylian form, but this image of him seemed a lot more evil. The eyes of fiery crimson looked into his ruby red eyes, those same eyes that were his; only with a piercing appearance. That same pale skin, the same clothes… only this one was wearing a sinister indigo cloak and a red belt that kept his tunic neat and tucked. It was the image of his shadow, and it was smiling sinisterly at him. He only stared back at it blankly.

"So you're finally awake…" it spoke to him in a voice that seemed to come from somewhere distant.

Vaati could not answer back. He was feeling a lot of things inside, so he doesn't know what to think or feel anymore. All he knew was that he needed to be safe; he needed to free himself of whatever this "thing" has intended for him…


	8. Chapter 8: A Plunge into the Darkness

**Chapter 8: A Plunge into the Darkness**

"Let's all go!" led Green to the other four. He bared his head to incorporate air and left his hat on Dark's bed. "Whew! I'm so tense that I could already feel the heat coming on to me!" He fanned his head.

"Hey, where's Master Ezlo?" wondered the childish one. They looked around for any signs of the Minish, but saw nothing.

"Well, I dunno, but we really gotta go right about now." Dark urged.

"Fine, let's go, guys!" Green once again grabbed his green cap and wore it. They all went inside the Dark Mirror, one by one. Dark, being the known resident of the realm, led the other Links.

The five finally were in the Shadow Realm. They looked around, and as expected… the world was very bizarre indeed. Warped figures everywhere, shadows lurking in each street, weird-looking figures of neither human nor animal flew about.

"This is all so creepy…" said Red. "B-b-but, we've been here before so I know I can handle this!" He gathered up all his courage.

"Well, how should we start? We don't even know where in this big world we'd find him!" Blue ranted.

"Well, you're right. Might as well start roaming around with our guide." smiled Vio, turning to the Shadow Realm's resident.

"Follow me." Dark said. He led the others into the bizarre realm as they strayed around its roads. The pathways were warped and unrealistic, but they could actually feel it with their own senses.

"Hey, look! Is that YOUR house here, Dark?" pointed Red at one of the houses. It looked like light Link's house, only a lot different.

"Snazzy!" remarked Blue.

"Victorian?" said Vio.

"Yep. A quaint Victorian house right in the middle of a lot of other houses. Wish you lived in it, huh, Green?" taunted Dark at his light self.

"Hmph! Whatever." Green crossed his arms and looked at some other houses lined up. He could see at a distance that there was a shadow castle.

"Hey, is that Hyrule castle?" pointed Green at the horizon.

"Hey, you're right! And look! What is that little thing floating up there? It looks like something is attached to the balloon…" said Red, pointing at some object in the dark, monochromatic sky.

"Oh, s-! Get inside, everyone!" Dark pulled Vio's arm, who just pulled Red's arm, who managed to grab Blue's arm, who grasped Green's torso. Dark pulled the chain of Links inside his little Victorian house then shut the door tight.

They stayed in the carpeted living room with a pleasant looking centerpiece table, along with plush sofas and chairs. There was a piano at one side just beside the sofa. There was a chandelier hanging just above them on the high ceiling.

"What's wrong? Why'd you pull us in?" inquired Vio, who was obviously puzzled along with the other colored Links.

"Guys, in this world, you stand out like Robin." replied Dark without hesitation.

"I don't get you, man." Blue answered back.

"Listen, ever wonder why Batman always brought Robin along with him?"

"I heard that joke already…" Green smiled.

"It's because he uses him as a decoy. He hides in the shadows with his night-black outfit while Robin goes out there and attracts attention so he can lure in more bad guys Batty can whoop."

Red giggled at the idea but Blue just scoffed at it.

"-snort!-"

"What th-" Before Green could speak any more, Vio burst in laughter as if there was no tomorrow.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAA! What the heck was that?! Oh, my stomach! HAHAHAHA! Ohmigosh! What the heck?!"

"Funny because it's true." concluded Dark, entertained by the smart guy laughing his guts off.

"And that's why you guys should be careful. We need your multi-colored outfits so I can spot you easily once we go in wherever the Vaati's shadow may be staying, but I also need you to be careful around shadows, especially unfriendly ones. There are friendly shadows like me, but more often times than not, they'll pick on you. Probably 'cause you're different and you're outsiders." Dark added to his last statement, warning the others.

"Okay then…" Green replied.

Blue itched for an answer. He couldn't resist asking an unanswered question. "Hey, that still doesn't answer our question. Why did you pull us in? We didn't see any other shadows!"

"Er… right." Dark scratched his nape, blushing and feeling sheepish. "Well, you see…"

"Yeah, what was that balloon thingy?" asked the innocent Red.

"Erm, haha. You see, it's only the most annoying shadow I've ever met in this world." Shadow tried to explain his side. "I'm sure you encountered his light self in y'all's world."

"I don't remember… do you?" Red turned to blue.

"Nope. I don't think so." Blue tried to recall, but didn't remember anything.

"Wait… you don't mean…" Vio suddenly remembered something and looked at Dark.

"Yep. That thing that gave you away when you spied on me."

"That creepy, middle-aged, little imp wearing the green tights?"

"Exactly."

"He always wanted to get those force gems and said that I was idolizing him. Hmph! What a little creep!"

"What are you two lovebirds talking about?" Green could feel the words suddenly slip from his mouth.

The violet hero and the anti-hero just stared at him, glaring into his eyes.

"Ummm…. sorry, hehe." Green scratched his nape, feeling very awkward about his actions. "I think I hung around the internetz too much…"

"No, that's true!" Blue remarked. "Read it again! There are a lot of scenes of the both of them together! Just look at it! In one panel, he embraced and seduced Vio!"

"And I guess Red and you don't have your sweet moments as well?" countered Dark, smirking at the blue hero. "Didn't you just save him from certain doom?"

"And? He's my alter ego! I should care!"

"And held him dearly in your arms?" Dark's smile widened even more, knowing that he cornered the hero - or the hero's alter ego - yet again.

"Why I oughta-"

"Stop it you guys! We must not delay any longer!" Green protested, seeing his other selves getting themselves into a fight.

"Hmph! You're the only one who gets a straight pairing!" Vio scoffed at Link.

"With the princess, no less!" added Red.

"No! I mean…" Green stuttered. "I mean, hey! I also get paired up with Dark here!"

They all just stared at him. They could NOT believe their ears. Tsk.

"And you're happy about it?" Blue smiled at him.

"Ooh, now we know a little bit of something about you, Green!" laughed Vio.

"Hey, really now, Green. You serious? You want us to…" Dark joked around with all of them.

"No! I mean, that's not what I meant! I mean, I only tried to disprove Vio here! I'm even with you guys!"

"Yeah right…" Vio said in disbelief.

"SHUT UP, ALL OF YOU!"

"Wh-who was that?" Red said, a bit scared.

"Hey don't look at me!" Green defended himself.

"It sounded like it came from you! You think you're such a hotshot?!" Blue approached Green clenching his fist. He looked angrily into Green's eyes…

"YEOW!" Blue was taken aback. He felt something pinch him.

"Blue? What's wrong? You okay?" asked Red, worried.

"Green, what did you do?" Vio looked at him.

"Nothing! I didn't…"

"WHY DON'T YOU ALL JUST SHUT UP AND LISTEN TO ME?!"

"What the friggin fu-" Dark was taken aback. Sure he saw a lot of bizarre things in the shadow realm, flying eyeballs, giant black chuchus, shadow Minish people in the jars, but he never saw a hat before… that talks!

"I don't know whether to take that as sarcasm or genuine surprise." Vio remarked, studying Dark.

"Oh, you're there?!" Green tried to look at his cap, which was on top of his head.

"Yes. You seem to be forgetting something, my youngsters. MY APPRENTICE IS IN DANGER!"

The four Links widened their eyes in shock of the fact that they have forgotten their objective. They then reconciled with each other and united themselves once again. Vaati WILL be saved!

"But… where do we find him?" Red asked, almost in despair.

"You're right…" Vio gave it a lot of thought. _'Just where could he be hiding?'_

"Maybe the shadow Picori world?" Blue suggested.

"Nope. Shadows stay where they are most comfortable in. All that Vaati felt in that world was remorse… Isn't that right, Ezlo?" Dark said.

"Yes. I was actually the only person he interacts with…" Ezlo said sorrowfully in his hat form.

"Wait! Guys… let's try to recall… where did we fight with him?" Green asked, with his eyes sparkling. It seemed that he had an idea.

The other four Links thought about it. After a little while, they were able to come up with their answers, which were all the same.

"The Tower of Winds!"

"Exactly! Dark, lead the way!"

"I'll try…" Dark closed his eyes and turned back to his other form with the baby blue eyes.

Having all the silence he needs, he concentrated more on his own energy. The others dared not make a noise, for surely… Shadow Link was up to something that will definitely help them.

"THERE!" Shadow pointed to the direction outside the window. "We need to get there."

"Why did you have to morph?" Vio could not help but ask.

"Because it is in this form that he recognizes me. I can only sense shadows that know me… and apparently, not many shadows know me in my newer form."

"And why, pray tell do you have another form?" Vio asked even further.

"It's because I didn't want that bad impression that I left on everyone with my original form… both in the light and the shadow world."

Vio didn't get it at first, but he finally got what Shadow was trying to say. At that, he felt very sorry for the shadow. On the other hand, the others did not get it.

They all set out for their adventure to the tower. Shadow turned back to his "Dark Link" form.

The others then asked him while Dark was away from them, leading the way.

"What exactly was he getting at?" Green asked, not getting the idea although he was the closest to Dark in all these years.

"Guys… I feel sorry for him… his message…" Vio looked at Dark, who was just walking and guiding the way. Vio drew his breath. "In the light world… he was considered a criminal, a villain, a merciless rogue who kidnapped the princess and the maidens and mislead the guards into this realm. That's one of the sole reasons why gossips about him never seem to cease with the people back at home."

Vio looked at the person they talked about.

"This way." he pointed, apparently no aware that they were talking about him.

"In the shadow realm, he is considered a traitor; one who once worked with the shadows then turned to light. But anyway we look at it… he will never be recognized by anyone… neither in light, nor in darkness…"

They all looked at him with sadness upon realizing the truth behind Dark… it was right under their noses, but they never gave it much thought. Red shed a tear for the poor boy… it was still him, but he could not believe that he was being loved, and yet some other part of himself disgusted a lot of people…

"Here we are." the shadow finally said, stopping in front of a tower that resembles the shadowy version of the Tower of Winds. He then turned to the others and saw that they look absolutely gloomy.

"What are the long faces for? Y'all should be happy because this is where we find our friend!" he smiled at them, leaving no traces of sorrow of his whole being.

"Uh… right." Green snapped out of it then focused on the tower. "Well, are you all ready?"

"Anytime!" Red boosted.

"Of course!" Blue announced.

"Let's go." Vio advanced.

Green opened the large door for all of them. They squinted their eyes in the darkness, for it seemed that the only light they could ever have was the dim light from the outside world… if that could be called light in its own sense. As they entered the tower with full precaution, they heard a slam from behind them and their world became totally black. They all gasped in surprise at this.

Not long after, the torches gave out light on their own. Everything in the tower was now visible… although, it seemed a bit different from their last visit in the light world. It seemed more like a palace to them, with the carpets and the elegant ornaments about. The floors were also divided into floors; with rooms at that. Despite that, it still felt like a tower due to the height that they have to climb.

"Man, this is exactly why I hate towers!" ranted Blue, just looking at the stairs that would start their tiring climb.

"We have no other choice," declared Vio. He looked around the dark place.

Dark remained being in his Shadow self. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the aura surrounding the tower.

"Guys… I must warn you. He is not alone." he uttered. "Indeed, he is up there in the highest room, but I can't be so sure of what he's doing with Vaati… all we have to do is act quick!"

"All right." Green said. He looked up at the stairs and let out a sigh. "Here goes."

Vio looked around once more. He felt that something was not right.

"Wait….." he then realized what it was. "Where's Red?!"

"Huh?" they all looked at him. They were shocked to hear that Red went missing; they were sure that he was there with them a little while ago. Then, they heard odd, sloshing noises from another room.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" shouted a familiar voice, distorted by its gurgling manner.

"REEED!" shouted Blue as he dashed for the room.

The four finally reached the room where they heard Red's voice with the sloshing noises and there before their eyes made their mouths all agape…

Blue stared at the creature. "WHAT THE F-"

BOOM! The whole room shook and crumbled. There, in front of them, was an enormous black chuchu jelly! Inside it was the red hero they were looking for!

"Déjà vu!" Green uttered.

"Wasn't that horrid thing rid of before?!" Ezlo shouted in both fear and shock of seeing another chuchu jelly.

"HERE GOES! HIYAAAAA!" Blue lunged at the jelly, but he just bounced off. "Oof!" Vio successfully caught him upon bouncing back.

"It's no use, what do we do?" the boy in purple asked the leader.

"Well… we…" after giving it some thought… "FUUUUUUDGE! I don't have my gust jar…"

"Well FUUUUUUDGE to you too! Now we're screwed!" the fiery boy in blue shouted at the self-proclaimed leader.

"Guys -blurb!-" Red tried to call them from inside the monster, wriggling his arms around.

"My arrows won't work," Vio said. "They will only go inside the monster."

"I can't attack it directly," Green regretted. "It'll get me before I get it."

They all contemplated for a strategy… even Shadow hoped to find an answer soon.

"I dunno with you guys, but I'm saving Red!" shouted Blue. "HIYAAAAAAH!"

Once again, he lunged for the chuchu jelly.

"Blue!" Green shouted, reaching out his hand for the stubborn lad.

This time, Blue had a different approach. He hid his sword in his sheath and simply leaped onto the chuchu's head. With much fury for the monster, he opened his mouth wide and bit it!

"What the friggin heck. Seriously." Shadow remarked at Blue's actions.

"NYAARGH! -nom!-" Blue could not help but bite it over and over again, not noticing that he's beginning to slowly eat the thing! "This stuff, it's… apple flavored?!"

"Mmm… hey, you're right! I'd think it was blackberry flavored…" Red tried to eat it from inside. "Green apple!" He started to swim inside the giant chuchu while nibbling the jelly on his way.

"Green apple? My favorite!" Green rushed to the jelly and started eating it to help the other two. Surprisingly, Ezlo helped gobbling the jelly up! He nibbled it just like any bird you've seen.

"Hey, count me in!" Shadow ran to them and dived in the jelly. He popped his head out and found that Vio was just there, giving them a disgusted look. "Hey, Vio! Come on! You know you want to…" Shadow tried to tempt the ethical Vio.

"You do know that it's icky and stuff, right? And that it could've gone into places we don't know?" Vio defended his side.

"Yeah, but what you don't know won't hurt!" answered back Shadow.

"OMNOMNOM~!" Blue chomped it down with bigger bites.

"Come on, Vio! You should try this!" Green invited him, but he still looked at it with disgust.

Not having any options left, he went closer and tried just the tiniest nibble. Then again, he made a small nibble, and again… and again… until he became faster devouring the jelly than any of the other Links.

"What th… there's none left?" Red exclaimed.

"Yeah! We did it!" Green cheered.

"Yeah, but we're totally full…" Shadow rubbed his tummy as he glided about the air.

"Mmmm…." Vio licked his lips. "Finally, we're done."

"Hahaha that was the oddest food party I've ever had!" Blue laughed.

Ezlo burped so loudly that it echoed throughout the room. That left the Links staring at him.

"W-what?! It's natural for a person to burp!" They were still staring and smiling at him. He tried to change the subject. "Come on, we've got to save Vaati!"

The four Links tried to stand, even though it was so hard for them to move in a full stomach. Shadow simply glided along with them, serving as their assistant. He sensed if something was lurking in the dark depths of the castle. They continued climbing the tower…

"Guys, watch out!" shouted Shadow to the others and glided away.

"W-wha…?" Vio uttered. They all looked up and saw another giant. There was a big cucco right in front of them, but it looked strange somehow. It was no ordinary shadow…

"A..aaaaaaah! AAAAAGH!" Vio screamed as he felt the cucco pick him up with its beak. "NOOOOO! GUYS! HELP M-"

The giant cucco swallowed Vio whole.

"VIOOOOO!" They all shouted, even Ezlo.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH! HELP ME!" Red screamed as the cucco also tried to gobble him up. He was already lifted up in the air when…

"Oh, no you didn't! You did not just get him!" shouted Blue. He got his boomerang and hit the cucco's beak; this made it cry in pain and lose grip of the childish hero it held. "AAAAHHHH! I'M FALLING!" he cried.

"Gotcha!" Blue caught Red in his arms, just in the nick of time.

"Thank you, Blue…" Red's eyes gleamed. He blushed so hard, feeling very happy that Blue saved him from danger. Blue immediately let go of the red boy before he could tighten his grip on him.

Shadow, in attempt to save Vio, glided on top of the cucco and started punching it.

"W-what…?" he paused for a while then made his mind to grab his sword. "Green… Link, whatever you do, don't hesitate to rip this thing open… how painful it may seem."

"What?" said Green, pulling the sword from his sheath.

"This… this isn't just a cucco… it's soft… and it has stitches…"

"No… no way… it's a shadow version of…"

"… Don't be fooled!" Shadow warned. "It may seem like it, but this is not Robin! Don't hesitate to rip it out, this is just an imagination turned to reality! Remember, this whole tower and its inhabitants are what Vaati holds in his heart!"

It was hard, but Green strongly held his sword and shield and charged for the stuffed cucco. As he stabbed his sword in the cucco, it cried and writhed in pain. He started to tear the cucco apart with Shadow's help. It was very, very hard for them. As they continued slashing it, both of them had tears forming on their eyes. The tears trickled down to their faces and even splattered on the cucco's cloth as they ripped it apart.

After much shredding, Shadow was able to make out Vio's face. He was unconscious in the huge pile of fiber fill. The purple-haired boy tried to reach for his hand and pulled him away to safety as Green continued tearing it apart.

At last, Vio was safe but unconscious. Shadow swooped down to hear if his heart is still beating and if he's still breathing, then gave out a smile of relief. He turned to Green who knelt down in front of the giant pile of fiber and torn cloth, crying. He approached the crying hero.

"It's okay, Link… it's okay… Vio's safe, Red's safe… and that… that thing wasn't Robin… he's safe back at home, don't worry." he said; patting the hero's back. "We have to keep going… Vaati's waiting for us."

Green tried to stop sobbing, and stood up. He walked towards the next set of stairs and advanced. Shadow carried Vio in his arms as he glided. Blue tried to shake Red's grip off his arm. They followed the leader and ascended the stairs.

The rooms filled with monsters seemed to take forever to venture in; there were far too many floors the tower had. Thankfully, throughout their struggle, Vio woke up and Green finally recovered from that sad incident.

They climbed so many floors and passed by a lot of rooms… there seemed to be no way out of it. That was until Vio spotted a mirror. "Hey, Shadow…"

"Huh?" Shadow looked at the violet boy. Vio merely pointed to a mirror in the room they happened to be in. "Ohhh…"

The shadow approached the mirror and laid his left hand on it. He closed his eyes and began to concentrate once more to open up a portal.

Vio hoped it worked but…

"Nnnhh… AAAAAAAGH!" Shadow screamed. He fell to the floor, writhing in pain.

"W-what happened?" asked Vio in a worried tone, daring to gently touch Shadow.

"Aaahh… i-it… IT HURTS!"

"Dark!" Green called out, as he fondly called him while they were enjoying the best moments of their friendship. He ran to the shadow's side and helped him up.

"I-it's no use…" Shadow said, gathering his energy. He touched the left side of his rib. "We have to go up there the traditional way. He cast a powerful force on the mirrors to block my power."

He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate once more. "…"

"Sh-Shadow? Are you okay?" Red asked the hurt boy.

"He's not very far from here… I can feel it. Just a few more floors, guys." He tried to stand.

"Shadow, you can get hurt!" Vio said. "Are you sure you don't want to rest for a while? Even for just a little while…?"

"I can't… Vaati… I don't care what happens to me… I deserve it… but Vaati…" he coughed a bit. "I have to save him!"

Green put his warm, friendly hand on Shadow's shoulder. The anti-hero looked at his counterpart. He was smiling at him, with the same kind smile that he always radiated whenever he or Vaati would feel down. He smiled back at the hero.

"Very well. Let's go, everyone." Green commanded. The five Links continued on their way. The latter part of the tower directly leading to the uppermost room was a spiral staircase. There they could feel the throb of excitement, feeling that Vaati is nearer with every step they take.

"I feel it." smiled Dark. "Almost there, guys."

"Errr…. I don't feel so good…" Red complained and stopped for a while.

"Hey, now's not the time to… aahhh…. m-me too…" Blue stopped in his tracks and rubbed his tummy.

"M-me too…" Vio rubbed his stomach.

Shadow had his hand on his abdomen and backed himself onto a wall and slowly sat down. His face was contorted in pain.

"Wh-what's gotten into you…? Aaagh…" Green stopped and curled to one side. He backed himself onto a wall. _'W-what's going on…? What's happening?'_

"Aa… AAAHHH!" shouted Red. "I-it hurts!"

"E-Ezlo… what's going on…?" inquired Green, obviously having a hard time to speak.

"I honestly don't know." he said, perplexed by the sudden behavior of the Links.

It was then that Green heard a sudden burst of sound. His eyes widened in realization what it was, then began to laugh his guts out.

"Oh… was that it?" Red said, relieved. "I'm sorry…"

"EEEWWW! P-hew! Red, that was gro-" Blue stopped what he was saying and then heard a sudden burst of wind come from him.

"That's so… EEEWWWWW!" Shadow laughed, fanning the fumes out with his black hat then…

'PFFFFFFFFFFFFRRRT!'

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA AAAAA!" Shadow laughed at his own release of winds. "Okay, whose turn is it?"

Yet again, they heard sudden bursts of sounds. Bursts?

Shadow laughed his guts out hearing that Vio and Green farted at the same time! Blue and Red were left rolling on the stairs, laughing their hindquarters off. Vio and Green just looked at each other and laughed as well. They embraced each other, giving each one a man hug.

"Looks like this 'Tower of Winds' cast a wind spell on us!" cackled Shadow.

"That was disgusting!" Ezlo ranted to all of them. "Ugh… I wish I had a hand to cover my nose with!"

"Hey, come on! You gotta understand; we ate a lot a while ago! It must've reacted only now!" Shadow explained, still laughing.

The Links looked at each other and unanimously said,

"WELL, EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME, EZLO!"

"Oh, dear Nayru…" Ezlo shook his head in disbelief.

They all laughed, amazed at how their minds were so connected.

"I guess we're really all the same person, huh? The same thought, the same metabolism… it's just amazing." Vio remarked and smiled at this.

"Hmmmm… I just remembered out of the blue, Blue… you saved Red twice in a row today." Shadow gave out a smile.

"Yeah, so?" Blue sounded annoyed.

"Well, I dunno… is there something… SPECIAL… about him? You saved him, but you didn't help saving Vio. And you were so persistent with that chuchu that ingested him."

"H-hey! What are you trying to say?!"

"Nothing… nothing really… I just wanna know… is he your type?"

"What th… oh… now I get it. So what you're really trying to say is… 'Will you please beat the s- out of me, Blue?!'"

Upon hearing this, Vio burst out in laughter, tears coming out of his eyes. "Oh, oh! Oh my tummy!"

"Hey, careful. You might fart again." Blue warned.

"Hey… wait… didn't Ezlo eat the jelly too?" Red asked innocently.

**_'BFWOT!'_**

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!" Green immediately threw his hat on the ground and started to rub his hair, as if there was something stuck to it.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAA!" Vio and Shadow laughed in unison, rolling on the floor and holding their tummies.

"Eew, eew, eew, eew, EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWW! Now my hair smells like fart! EEW! EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!"

"AHAHAHAAAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAA!" the two continued laughing.

Green paused for a while. He had remembered something. "Guys… Dark… do you remember how Vaati always laughed so insanely when he heard our gags?"

Shadow stopped laughing almost instantaneously upon hearing Green talk. He turned to him with serious eyes. "I feel him. We must make our move!"

The Links proceeded on their tedious way up, and as they did, Vio tried to recover from his laughing spree. He blushed so hard… he could not stop giggling, but he covered his mouth to force himself not to laugh.

They finally approached an enormous double-door. It reached the high ceiling and stretched as wide as two average rooms.

"I feel something inside. He must be in here! We have to be careful!" Shadow warned.

Ezlo transformed himself into a Hylian-sized Minish. Apparently, he kept the Minish cap in him. He kept it in his pocket for safekeeping.

"Thank you for keeping that hat. I shall give it back to you once this is all over." he gratefully said. Green nodded at this. He grabbed his extra cap from his pocket bag and put it on to boost his confidence. He then looked at the doors again and gave out the signal to the others to push the doors aside. The others nodded, along with Ezlo.

Altogether, they pushed the heavy door with all their might. It was impossible for one person to open this on his own, but having five… six people… opening it won't be such a problem.

The doors finally opened…

"Hm. How pathetic."

They all entered the room and found the shadow sitting gingerly on his throne. He was holding in his right hand a goblet of what seems to be red wine. After a while, two figures - human-like and monster-like - formed beside him. There, they saw the Minish form by his right where he held the goblet and the flying monster by his left. The Minish was human-sized and the monster was just a bit bigger than Shadow's pet rock.

"I'm surprised that you made it this far." the shadow in the Hylian form remarked. "Bravo."

"Where is he?" Green asked; his eyes filled with both anger and fear that they may be too late.

"Tch." he threw the goblet on the ground and it shattered upon impact. He stood and snapped his fingers. In an instant, they saw their friend Vaati bound with a dark aura that represented the monster's tentacles. His arms were tied up from behind him, and his legs were bound as well. As if that wasn't enough, there were also chains of darkness that bound his torso with his arms.

"G-guys… y-you came…" Vaati said, almost in a whisper.

"Vaati!" Green rushed for him, but the shadow in the Minish form hindered his way. It gave out such an evil smile, despite its sweet appearance. On the other hand, while the Minish shadow distracted Green, the shadow in Hylian form grabbed his light self.

"Seriously, you came for this little weakling?" it said, a sarcastic smile etched on its face. He then looked at the mild-faced Vaati he held in his arms. Vaati weakly looked back at his shadow with fear.

The dark being harshly threw his light self on the ground.

"Aaagh!" whimpered Vaati. The shadow stood by the side of his owner.

"My… how the tables have turned… you pathetic weakling." he kicked Vaati's side hard. The poor boy bound in dark aura grunted in pain.

"Vaati!" Green shouted.

"Stop that!" yelled Shadow Link at his fellow shadow.

"Oh, it's the traitor." Vaati's shadow turned to Shadow Link.

"My, my…" he looked at the boy in the black tunic from head to toe. "You haven't changed much from when I last saw you… from when you nearly killed us both when you foolishly broke that mirror…"

He put his fingers under Shadow's chin and forced him to look at his face.

"Heh." Shadow Link merely smiled.

"Nnn…nnngghhh…" Vaati groaned and tried his best to struggle free, although he was far too weak to begin with.

His shadow grimaced as he turned to his owner. "How pitiable, do you seriously think you could get yourself out of this? Puh!"

He snapped his fingers and immediately, the grip of the aura around Vaati tightened even more.

"AAAAAHHHH!" it hurt the poor Hylian-Minish so much, tears began to well in his eyes. Shadow Vaati approached light Vaati.

He began talking to him in a hushed tone. "Listen… don't you want to be more like me…? I am what you always wanted, right? And I am you…"

He held Vaati's hurt face and forcefully turned it to him.

"This is what you always wanted right?" He turned to everyone else. "Hahaha, look at me, I'm Vaati; the famous wind sorcerer! I shall dominate the world someday… all by myself!" He gave out a villainous laughter as he made a striking pose of a villain.

"N-no… please… stop it…" Vaati whimpered.

The shadow looked at his 'master' on the ground. "Oh? Would you stop denying it? I AM you. Get over it. We're the same person. We're the same in everything."

"N-no…"

"Vaati!" shouted Ezlo.

"My, my… Master Ezlo! How nice of you to pay me a visit!" the shadow in Hylian form smiled.

"Master! Master! Do you have something for me?" the Minish shadow approached his master with childlike glee.

As he approached Ezlo, he snatched the Minish cap hidden away in the elder's pocket. "Ah, so you do have something for me." Vaati's Hylian shadow said as the Minish shadow handed the cap over to him.

The shadow smiled upon receiving the hat, and then he gingerly placed the cap on his head. He then felt power surging from him, given by the sorcerer's cap. He looked at each and one of them.

"No… the cap… it has given him power!" Vio uttered.

"You're a smart little boy." said the one with the sorcerer's hat. "Hehehe, you just amuse me. But you have to go…"

He gave out a sinister smile and pointed his finger at the purple boy. "TO STONE WITH YOU!"

Vio, frozen with fear, closed his eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

A strange flash had just crossed their field of vision, in a way that it was almost too blinding to be able to see what was going on.

"No…" as Vio opened his eyes, he saw the elder right in front of him, motionless.

He was frozen into stone.

"Ezlo!" the Links shouted in shock. They all rushed for Ezlo's petrified body.

"MASTER!" Vaati screamed from where he laid. He struggled even more from his captivity.

"Hahaha…" the shadow flaunted his flowing cape and radiated more evil energy.

"Stop it… please… no more…" muttered Vaati.

"See? I did what you always wanted to do. No more nagging master. And that traitor that you always hated will be rid of, too."

"No… he's my friend now!"

"Oh? I mean, really… you still hate him for sealing you in that dark, scary place… right? You hate all of them for doing that to you… you hate Ezlo for making everyone indifferent of your existence!"

"He did WHAT?" Green said, perplexed and angry.

"Yes… that was why Zelda and the villagers didn't remember a thing about me… and that was why I felt so alone… no one… no one remembers me…" the shadow bowed his head in sorrow. "But why… of all people… why did it have to be you…?" He quickly raised his head and sharply looked into Green's kind eyes. "Why did you have to be the true wielder of this cap?! WHY?!"

"Dude, you're way overboard!" Shadow yelled.

"That's it! We're taking him down!" Blue demanded.

"STOOOP!" Vaati managed to kneel, although he was feeble at the moment. "You… you're nothing but a monster… I don't know you! So please stop saying that you're me!"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Shadow commanded Vaati in a yelling voice.

"YOU'RE NOT ME!" declared Vaati to his shadow.

"Ha… hahahaha… sweeter words have never been spoken…" the Hylian shadow began to emit dark aura uncontrollably. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"What happened?" Red asked, frightened of the shadow's behavior.

"Thank you so much…" the shadow Minish smiled and giggled in childish delight.

"Now, I'm free!" the monster shouted happily as it flied around the throne room gaily.

The three began to fuse themselves as they were enveloped in what seemed to be a black hole. The light Vaati, however, was whimpering and crying due to what was happening. Shadow tried to reach for him, but the power that almost enveloped the poor boy was far too strong, even for him.

"The shadow… it has been liberated!" Shadow Link said.

"What?" Red turned his head to him.

"In saying those words, the shadow was granted its own will; its own life. Therefore, it is not a part of him anymore." Vio clarified.

"T-This is not happening…" Green stood there, frozen and stupefied at the whole thing.

The Links watched in horror as they watched the shadow gain more power…


	9. Chapter 9: I'll Face Myself

**Chapter 9: I'll Face Myself**

"What do we do now?!" panicked the boy clad in blue.

"First and foremost: don't panic!" the leader instructed Blue firmly, and did as he was told.

"Hahahahaha…" the shadow laughed happily as the transformation was brought to completion.

Shadow Vaati still composed of the three forms of its previous owner; the monster had grown big just like its previous forms of the past battles, the Hylian stood on its head, and the Minish rode on its tentacle. The notable difference of the shadow is that now, it radiated more evil energy. The Links stared in fear as they saw how powerful it was given the wishing cap of the elder.

"I am the shadow… the true self…" they said in unison.

"Guys… don't let it fool you… sure it may look like there are multiple people and all, but it is in fact, still a single shadow!" informed Shadow, his eyes shifting in analyzation.

"You five look like you are in need of something…" its voices in harmony as it spoke to them. "Especially you." It then turned to Shadow Link. "Don't you want to come with me and once again rule the world? It'll be fun… it only became a disaster because you broke the mirror… but not to worry, I'm giving you another chance."

The boy in the all black attire did not reply, instead; he turned his head to check on Vaati's condition. The poor boy was still unconscious and was still far away from the heroes.

"He's not interested." Green told the shadow of the poor, unconscious boy.

"Oh? Hmph. Why am I wasting time on you…? You all deserve to die… each and every one of you in this room! **EVEN HIM!**" it shouted in fury.

"Him… I think he means Vaati!" told Vio to his teammates.

"Ain't no way he's doing that! Let's kick some shadow's rear!" Blue aggressively said, rolling up his sleeve and grabbing his sledgehammer.

"Of course he isn't!" Red agreed, got his fire rod, and readied his stance for battle.

"Of course." Vio prepared his bow and arrows, ready to aim at anything, anytime.

"Let's get him!" commanded Green, as he unsheathed his sword. He then turned to Shadow and said, "Shadow, you take care of Ezlo and Vaati!"

Shadow nodded and immediately did as he was instructed. He took Vaati to a safe spot in the room, and then he returned once more to fetch Ezlo's body. Upon seeing this, Shadow Vaati tried to attack the hero's shadow.

"EYAAAAAGH!" the evil, insane shadow screamed as an arrow pierced its eye.

"Go!" commanded Vio to Shadow Link as the four Links surround the ex-villain's shadow. The boy in black safely retrieved Ezlo's stone body and then returned to Vaati. The poor boy with the flowing lavender hair was still bound by his shadow's evil aura. His face was still etched with fear and pain.

"Oh. Hold on, Vaati… this might take a while…" Shadow said, trying to free Vaati with his own power. He closed his eyes to concentrate once more. This time, though, he seemed to have a hard time removing it, since Vaati could see him perspire. The pale boy grew concerned for the now fair-skinned boy.

"A-almost… got it…"

Vaati could feel the chains of darkness slowly fade away from his body. It was only after a few seconds that he was finally free! In fear of his shadow and gratitude for the kindness of the dark anti-hero, he embraced Shadow Link. The shorter boy cried on the taller boy's chest as they sat on the floor.

"There, there…" Shadow comforted Vaati, and then he looked at the others in the fight and then bowed his head and closed his eyes again.

"Guys, aim for the eye! It's the weakness!" Vio informed.

"Ain't it the most obvious?!" Blue scowled as he tried to hit the eye.

"It's getting the chance to hit the eye, that's the trick!" Green let out his opinion.

"FIRE ROD!" said Red as he cast fire aimed at the giant eye of the shadow monster.

The shadow winced in sheer pain as the fire burned its eye. It wasn't easy to take this shadow down, but it seemed to weaken with each attack.

"AAAAAARGH! Why did I ever have to choose the melee weapon?!" Blue complained.

"It's YOUR own decision." Vio snapped as he tried to aim for the eye, once again.

"Works for me." Green commented.

The shadow was definitely weakened due to the strong attacks of the four Links combined altogether. It was nearly limping to the ground.

"Guys! Hurry! FINISH IT OFF!" shouted Shadow upon opening his eyes promptly.

"Wha…?" Vio grew puzzled of the sudden reaction of his other self.

"Nhh… nnnnggghhhh…" the shadow groaned.

The Hylian was already kneeling on top of the monster's head, holding onto its horns for support. The Minish hung onto the tentacle of the monster, looking as if he was sleeping in the monster's care. And as for the monster, it now had difficulty flying, seeing that it was the most wounded of the three. Although it was only the monster that looked much wounded, the other two forms seemed to be suffering the same pain it feels.

The Minish shadow tried to get itself sitting on the tentacle's edge again, and then closed its eyes and bowed its head. It seemed to be uttering some kind of an incantation. As soon as it opened its ruby eyes, a mist of what seems to be white magic surrounded the whole of the shadow. At that, it came flying energetically once more.

"What the fu-" Blue's word was cut off as the monster took full advantage of his shock. He was thrown off to the far end of the room where the sturdy doors stood.

"Blue!" Red screamed out as he turned to see if his alter ego, or his friend, was okay.

Vio spotted the Hylian chanting some kind of a spell…

"AAAAAAH!" Red screeched in pain. The gust of winds that the shadow sorcerer was so strong that it cut him.

"Everyone, listen to me!" Shadow called out. The other four listened to him as they tried to fight off the shadow of the ex-villain. "The Minish can cast white magic to restore health to the whole shadow, the Hylian can cast offensive spells such as that gust of winds, and the monster is brutally strong with physical attacks!"

"Huh, got that!" Green assured.

"Wait… if this is just one target… and if the saying 'a prick in the pinky hurts the whole body' applies, then that means that we can attack it any way we like, right? It's gonna hurt all of them, anyway!" Red suggested to the whole party.

"…" Vio stood speechless and began to act funny.

"W-what's wrong, Vio? Was it wrong?" Red asked the know-it-all; for fear that he might be wrong.

"I can't believe that I never thought of that…" the smart boy gave out a wry smile and seemed to hate himself for overlooking an important fact.

"H-hey, that's right!" Blue's eyes widened as he realized that Red actually made sense this time.

"Then that means this won't be much of a problem now regarding which target to pick, huh?" Green concluded.

"Yes. Attack the Minish, or the Hylian, or the monster… you'll still get the same results." Vio clarified.

"ALL RIGHT!" Blue lunged at the shadow once more and aimed for the Minish. "I hate that evil cuteness of yours! Rub it off your face!" he shouted in his usual frustration.

Green stared at the shadow Hylian standing on top of the monster. He realized that it was staring back at him and not at any other Links; it seemed to focus its attention only on him!

_'Th-that thing… is the evil version of my friend… I can't believe that it's just the same person…'_ he thought as his peaceful cerulean eyes met the shadow's fiery crimson eyes.

The shadow Hylian seemed to be chanting once more but it was… different. It was a rather long one, long enough for Shadow to warn the other Links.

"WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T LOOK INTO HIS EYES!" he said, and at that, he turned his back on them, shielded Vaati, and closed his own eyes. Vaati closed his eyes as well, heeding his protector's instructions.

The four Links closed their eyes and made a defensive pose, guarding themselves. They could swear that they heard a resonant ting as a flash of light passed. They may not have seen it, but it was so blinding that its lightness can be perceived by the closed eyes.

"It's safe now…" assured Shadow. Everyone else opened their eyes; the Links continued fighting against the shadow and Vaati remained close to Shadow's gentle embrace. "If you didn't listen to me, it would be 'to stone with all of us'."

"Ooh… **LIE DOWN AND DIE ALREADY!**" Blue aggressively yelled as he hit Shadow Vaati with all his might.

The shadow flinched, but it did not let itself be defeated by the heroes. It grabbed all four of the fighters with each of its free tentacles. Green and Red were held by each of their feet, Vio was held by his torso; binding his arms, and Blue was held by his left arm that held his weapon.

"I…it hurts…" Vio uttered, making a face.

"Let go, you bad guy!" Red squirmed and tried to get himself free.

Now, the monster was enjoying himself feeling the four squirm in his grip. The Minish was completely entertained just seeing them try to break free; and so was the Hylian. The Hylian put his hand in front of his face and positioned it in a casting position.

There came a strong current of lightning. It passed by all four of the heroes through the monster's tentacles. Then there came strong gusts of winds that beat them up as they helplessly dangled from the monster's grip.

It let the four free and they all fell to the ground with much impact. They all tried to get up, never allowing themselves to be beaten; but they had to face the reality that they were all in a very critical condition.

"Say goodnight, heroes." the shadow declared.

The Hylian raised its arms to cast another strong spell to finish everyone off, but something stopped him from doing so. When it turned to see who or what it was, it was shadow Link, casting an equally strong dark spell so that his may not work. Shadow merely blocked the attack with his own magic.

Vaati saw that they were all trying so hard to fight for their lives as well as his. He closed his eyes and did his best to cast magic on his own. Immediately, the four felt a strong current pass through their bodies again but this time, it was strangely refreshing. Green turned and saw that Vaati tried to heal them, and he grinned at this.

The four heroes once again stood, feeling all energized and refreshed.

The shadow grew irritated, for his light self helped the Links to defeat him. Trying to aim for his light self now, he was apparently so distracted that the Links made an opening on it. The four decided to aim the different parts of the shadow and tried to find its weak spot.

Surely enough, they found that by aiming for the vital organs of any form made the shadow a lot weaker rather than by just hitting it pointlessly.

The Shadow was apparently getting weaker yet again. The Minish attempted to heal the whole shadow when all of a sudden Red cast his fire rod on him. The shadow once more, winced in sheer pain as the Links cornered it.

The shadow was already down on the ground.

"Now might be our only chance! We must strike!" Vio strongly recommended. Green nodded at this and the boys surrounding the shadow readied their weapons.

"It will end here!" Vio said with full determination.

The Links rushed to the shadow, beating it with their weapons. From a distance, Shadow and Vaati could swear that they could no longer see the boys. They were covered by the massive white cloud that they created as they beat up the shadow. As the cloud cleared up, they saw the boys standing there, waiting if ever the shadow would rise and attack them again.

"H-how… how could I be beaten by a group of kids as you…?" it uttered; frailty was obvious in its tone.

"Because of the power of teamwork." Green simply stated.

At that, the monster closed its enormous eye. The Minish closed its eyes and laid on the monster's tentacle; sleeping as if it was cradled in its mother's arms. The Hylian helplessly slumped on the horns of the monster, where he lay almost lifeless.

It seems the battle is over. Green fixed himself after such a tedious fight, Red let out a sigh of relief, Blue showed off himself yet again, and Vio simply fanned himself with his own fan that he kept in his pocket bag.

"I-Is it over?" Red asked the others.

"I'm too strong for ya!" Blue jeered at the shadow.

"Shall we move on?" Vio said as he arrogantly fanned himself in front of the fallen shadow.

The shadow was yet again enveloped in dark aura, but this time, it seemed much weaker. Transformation on the shadow was taking place once more but it looked good for all of them. The shadow appeared to be so weak that it can no longer fight back.

After a while, the dark atmosphere around the shadow wore off and there it revealed a fallen Hylian sorcerer Vaati. It was face down, with its arms and legs sprawled on the carpet. Its hair was in disarray and spread on his back. It was like the pathetic, pitiable position that Green saw when he defeated Vaati for the first time… four years ago.

The shadow did not budge a bit.

Seeing that everything seemed to be all calm, Vaati gathered all his strength and courage to stand on his own. He approached the center of the throne room where the Links of the mighty Four Swords stood in victory. Shadow followed him without further ado.

"Vaati, are you okay?" Green asked him, looking at him with the same face he made when they first met in his room during the storm; gentle and sweet.

"Y-yes…" he tried his best to hide the pain he felt inside and out. He turned to his fallen shadow, lying on the ground limply.

The shadow's hand began to shake, trying to get itself up. It was way too weak to stand up, so it ended up just kneeling on the ground, looking desperate.

"… What are you going to do with me…?" it said, trying to cover up its fear by talking tough.

"…" Vaati slowly approached his shadow and just looked at it directly in the eye.

"How's about we finish it once and for all?" suggested Blue eagerly, readying his sledgehammer once more. The shadow flinched weakly, closing its eyes in fear for what awaited him.

"…" Vaati turned and scowled at the blue hero. He never said anything to him, but Blue felt ashamed of himself after Vaati gave him such a look. The boy with the flowing lavender hair went in front of his shadow. He turned his back at it and looked at the Links. He spread out his arms and gave a glare, and it looked like he especially glared at Blue.

"Don't hurt him anymore… please…" Vaati solemnly said. "… It was my fault… it was my entire fault that he turned out to be like this…"

The shadow looked up to him, pitiful and pathetic; like a how a slave should look up to his master. It clutched its chest, as he apparently gasped for air for he was weak. He felt, for the first time, that he was being loved… no one had ever dared to love him…

... not even himself.

Vaati then turned to his shadow. He looked at it with sad and merciful eyes.

"…What? Are you going to… put me out of my misery yourself…?" the shadow said weakly.

"… You poor thing… I guess you were just lonely…" Vaati told his shadow. "I have got to be, indeed, the saddest boy in the world…"

"What…?"

"…Because I never even knew how to love and accept myself. Sure you may be a lot different from how I know myself… but nevertheless… you are still me. I can't imagine how sad your existence was… considering that I considered the past of this self I knew a very sad one… but you…"

Vaati hesitated to continue… the clear tears were forming in his eyes. He gulped and tried to calm himself down, then finally continued…

"… You have endured all those challenges in my life… and that was all that you lived for… it was because of that pain and hatred against the world I held in my heart that caused you to be demented and lusting for power…"

Vaati recalled the past: from four years ago, his shadow took over him because he was so weak in all aspects that you could name. After the shadow was sealed by the Hylian hero and he went back to the Minish world, he lived peacefully for two years.

He was already twelve when he heard that Link, the hero of Hyrule, broke the seal of his shadow by unleashing the Four Sword. The shadow was once again free and was a menace to the society. Then, not long after, he was sealed yet again… it seemed as though as he was cursed to stay trapped in darkness forever…

Now that he's almost fourteen in just a few months' time, he met his shadow face to face.

"You just did all those things just to defend me, didn't you?"

He then swooped down to his shadow which was half sprawled on the ground helplessly. He looked at it with warm and welcoming eyes, smiling at it so gently. He had never smiled like that before… his smile was like that of an angel's; so warm, so tender, and so sweet.

He then reached out his hand for the shadow's.

"Come… let us stand together."

The shadow just stared at him in awe for he had never experienced anything like it. As far as he was concerned, "love" was never a part of the dictionary he knew. As his "owner" gave out his hand for his, he accepted it. They stood up together, their eyes fixed on each other.

"I am you… and you are me… we are one…" declared Vaati as he smiled once more at his shadow.

The shadow gazed into his master's eyes. They were so passionate, so calm… so peaceful.

"… Thank you." he told his light self. He closed his eyes, and finally felt at peace.

"W-whoa…" Blue blurted out. The four light Links stared in awe as the shadow slowly dissolved and vanished in thin air. They could swear that the shadow was smiling peacefully as it slowly faded away.

…until there was no more.

"Wh-where'd he go?" Red looked around, hoping to see the shadow.

"Well done, Vaati." applauded Shadow, now in his "Dark Link" form. His eyes were half opened. He explained further, "Now that he accepted his shadow, it fused into him… it went into his heart. Now they are one as they said earlier."

"Aaaaghh…" Vaati lay on the floor.

"Vaati!" Green rushed to his side, and then the others followed.

"I-I'm okay…" Vaati tried to smile. It was obvious in his face that he was very tired of what had taken place.

They heard a loud thump from behind. When they turned to see what or who it was, they saw the elderly Minish, lying on the plush carpets of the room. He appeared to be unconscious, probably worn out of the spell that had been cast on him.

"M-Master…" Vaati uttered. He suddenly remembered that the shadow left him something. He looked back at where the shadow had been before, and then he spotted it - the wishing cap of which it gained power from. He grabbed it gingerly and handed it over to Green.

"Here, Link…" he said softly, and then the other three immediately looked at him.

"Yes?" they said in unison.

"I mean… um…"

"When I'm with them," explained the hero of Hyrule clad in green, "my name is Green."

"Green…" Vaati smiled; it was the same smile that he gave to his shadow earlier. "How cute…"

Link smiled back at him. Finally, Vaati felt genuinely happy for the first time…

"-snort!-"

The four Links took a look at what created the snort. When they turned their heads to the source, Vaati's face was already getting very red.

"G-Green? Ahahaha… how cute! It's like pointing out the obvious! I suppose that this is Red, Blue, and Purple!" he laughed out loud as he pointed to the corresponding Links.

"Actually, it's Vio." corrected the smart one, raising a finger.

Vaati's face blushed even more than it should. He tried to hold his laughter, but he couldn't help but burst in boisterous laughter hearing Vio so serious about the whole thing.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"W-what…?" was all Blue could utter. He never knew this side of Vaati. Green on the other hand, was very happy to see Vaati so happy. It had been a while since he saw Vaati's shy smile... but before him now was the genuine smile of which he hadn't seen since his kind advice to Vaati's Minish self four years ago.

... When all of a sudden, Vaati stopped laughing and just stares at Green. He closed his eyes and then slumped onto the hero's chest. The hero embraced him tightly and kissed him lightly on the forehead. He then carried the unconscious boy in his arms and stood up.

"Y'all ready?" Dark asked all of them, and they nodded in response.

The black-haired boy approached the mirror at one side of the vast throne room. As he did, Vio could not help but ask…

"Shadow… how did all this happen? How was the Dark Mirror revived?"

The shadow looked at him and smiled.

"I thought you'd ask that…" he laid his palm on the mirror. He closed his eyes yet again. "You see, I did say that I wanted to turn to light, right? And that's what I did. That's how I came to this world… it was tough getting used to a world filled with light… but I survived. It was because he…"

He stopped.

"YOU, light Link, accepted me. Especially you, Green." he turned to Green and smiled. "In doing so, I have gained the ability to go in both light and dark realms at will."

He turned back to the mirror as he explained even further. "Now, y'all here sealed Vaati's shadow in this realm. His shadow was especially vengeful and strong, so it tried and tried to create a spell that will restore the Dark Mirror. And it worked, although not perfectly. The Dark Mirror became smaller as you have seen in my room. It is still a full-body mirror, but it was not as grand as it was years ago."

Vio gave it some thought. "If it was his doing, why was the mirror with you?"

"I stole it. He couldn't get it back since he didn't have my ability to shift from dark to light and vice versa."

Upon saying that last statement, the portal appeared on the mirror's surface. He urged the four Links to go on ahead. Green came in first, carrying Vaati. The others followed. Blue carried the elder on his back, giving him a piggy-back ride. Red and Vio came into the portal at almost the same time.

The portal led them in Dark's room. Everything was as is. Green laid Vaati's body on Dark's bed. He tucked the young Hylian-Minish in the blankets and the comforter.

"Glad everything's over!" Blue said, letting out a sigh of relief. He laid the elder beside his pupil on the bed.

"Good job, team." Green praised.

"Heehee, with the four… I mean, five of us, everything's possible!" Red gleefully said.

"Five…" Vio paused for a while then let out a surprised face. "Where's Shadow?!"

From out of the mirror, Dark came out, panting. He knelt to the floor due to his weakness.

"Sh-Shadow… Dark… are you all right?" Vio rushed to his side and knelt before him.

"Y-yeah… just… just a little tired, that's… all…" upon saying the last word, he slumped onto Vio's lap face down and then soon after began to snore. Vio smiled at this, seeing that he was sleeping soundly like a child.

_'You poor thing… doing all those things for all of us must've strained you a lot… after all, you were multi-tasking…'_ he thought as he ruffled Dark's hair a bit.

"Er… Vio, I wouldn't let him sleep on you like that if I were you." warned Green.

Vio gave him a quizzical look. "Why?"

"Because…" Green smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head. "… Look at your tunic."

Vio looked down at his tunic where Dark laid peacefully. He then felt something… wet. When he looked closely…

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE EWWWWWWWWWW! YUUUUCK!"

He tried to get rid of Dark on his lap… because he was drooling on him!

"I TOLD you." Green said.

It was no use… Dark held onto him tightly, never wanting to let him go.

"No… come here… mmmm… soft toasty… fur…" he said, snuggling close to Vio.

"Looks like he's dreaming of Robin again." Green smiled.

"Well…" Vio tried to shrug off the fact that Dark was drooling on his precious tunic. "We'll just have to wait for them to wake up, right? I mean… they have to explain everything…"

Green contemplated. He remembered that he always wanted to ask Vaati something.

_'Right… what was with everyone forgetting about him completely except for me and Dark?'_ he gazed at Vaati sleeping soundly with his master. _'I guess we need to wait until he, or they, recover…'_

Red could not help but wonder, "Hey, what do you guys think we should do while they recover?"

"Hmmmm…" Vio gave it a thought, but was clearly distracted by Dark.

"Well, we'll take care of them!" Blue said, quite determined. "You Red, you cook the dishes! Vio, you read them bedtime stories! Green, you defend them from anything like those spooty mosquitoes!"

"And you? What'll you do?" Green asked, quite curiously.

"I'll be the coach!"

"W-WHA?! That's so not fair!" shouted Green, almost lunging at Blue.

"Hahahahahaha!"

"N-nnnhhh…" Vaati slightly twitched in his sleep.

"SSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Vio warned.

"Mmm… I'm so hungry; I could eat an… octorok…" Dark said in his sleep.

"So I guess we'll just take care of them, then…" Green summarized.

And so for the next days that came, they took care of the three.

The four Links decided to do as Blue instructed before, but of course; the blue boy helped them. What was Blue's task? Being their nurse. He had to give them medicine and such…

... of course, he wouldn't really settle for something like that, so he traded tasks with Red who enjoyed his new task quite fine.

A proof that Red had really enjoyed being a nurse was that he even made a little nurse's hat made out of papier-mâché adorned with a red cross inside a pink heart.

"I didn't know you could cook!" Green exclaimed.

"DUH! I'm you, so I could cook." Blue snapped, feeling all proud of himself.

"Well, why didn't SOMEONE get any share of brains?" Vio boasted.

"Hmmmm… maybe there wasn't an equal distribution?" Red suggested. "Well, I got all the cutie cutieness…"

"I got the brute strength!" Blue declared.

"You're just reckless. See here? It shows here that I am just as strong as you guys." Vio said, pointing at a particular page in his book.

"Yep. I thought for sure that you stabbed me there. You sneaky little-" Green lightly hit Vio's forehead. Vio countered him with a sly smile.

"Ha. Ha. Ha. All your brains are belong to us." Vio boasted once more.

"-toot!- you!" Blue retorted.

"What do toasters toast?" Vio asked with his brow raised.

"Toasters toast toast!" Blue answered very proudly, his arms crossed as a sign of confidence.

"No!" Green corrected.

"That's WRONG!" Red pointed his fire rod at them. "Mmpa, mmpa, mmpa, mmpa…"

Red began to spin his fire rod like how a marching band leader twirls the baton around.

"A lapp dapp dapp a-dibi dabi din labba dip dan din lan den lan do  
wa ba lip dap dap, ba lipp ba libb, ba libbi libbi libbi dab den lan do…" Red sang in such a catchy tune.

"Wha… how'd you learn how to sing that? I thought that Ievan Polkka was impromptu!" Vio surprisingly remarked.

"I looked the lyrics of Hatsune Miku's version up. Hard to find, but there you go! Now where was I? Oh, right!" he continued to sing joyfully while spinning his fire rod.

Vaati let out a slight smile in his sleep, although none of the Links noticed.

_'I WILL tell you the truth, guys… don't worry…'_


	10. Chapter 10: A Brighter Day

**Chapter 10: A Brighter Day**

"Oh, Grandpaaa! I'M HOOOOOOOME~!"

"Welcome home, my grandson!"

The blonde boy in the white polo and dark blue pants rushed to his grandpa Smith who was just busy in his forge.

"So, how's school today?"

"Just fine! I met tons of friends~!" the boy danced around. "Well, I'll be seeing you, grandpa! I've gotta do my assignments~! But wait… I'm kinda hungry…"

"Well, you better get something to eat first. Phew…" Smith stopped forging his sword for a while. "Please tell them to conserve food, okay?"

"Gotcha~!"

The boy hummed a tune as he skipped happily to the dining room.

"Back so soon?" a tone came from somewhere near the dining table. The blonde turned to see who it was.

"Oh, Blue! I'm done, now it's YOUR turn!"

"MY turn?! It's Vio's turn! Green, you tell him!"

"Red's right," Green countered Blue who just took a bag of chips from the fridge. "It's YOUR turn tomorrow. Be ready."

"Pffft. FFFFFFFFFine!" the blue youngster growled and looked away.

"So, how was it, Red?" Green changed the subject.

"A-okay! I love school!" Red fixed his polo shirt. "And you know what? I think they like me~!"

"Okaaaay…" Green smiled.

"You know, there was this woman with a stick…"

"That's the teacher…" Green said, slowly getting nervous at what Red's done to his reputation back in school. He settled on the chairs of the dining table just across Blue, who was busy listening to Red's story.

"…Oh, really?" Red seemed so clueless about the thing. "Anyway… she showed me two red ball-like thingies back in… um… science class, right! And then she asked the class what they were…"

"… And what did you answer…?" Green bowed his head, fearing Red's reply.

"CANDY APPLES!"

"Fudge…" Green slumped onto the table, burying his head in his arms; slumping onto the table.

"Aren't they supposed to be dodge balls?" Blue tried to correct.

Green did not utter a word, instead; he just remained still from where he sat. _'I'm screwed…'_

"They just laughed at me, or with me, or whatever… I dunno why…"

"Maybe because the correct answer was, 'atoms'." Blue and Red looked at who just corrected the both of them. It was none other than the smart guy himself, Vio.

"Those red spheres were merely an abstract representation of the atoms, my dear Red…" Vio waggled a finger at his innocent self.

"Thank you, Vio…" Green muttered, not lifting his face to see anyone of them.

"Hehe… I think this is gonna be so fun after all…" Blue smirked, rubbing his palms together.

"Oh, what did I do to deserve this…?" Green muttered sullenly once again, this time; lifting his head up and stood from his seat. "Well, I'm going upstairs."

"Green… you've been at it for a whole day! Give it a rest already, they're doing fine." Vio somehow scolded Green. "You're straining yourself too hard."

Indeed, Green felt tired just watching over Vaati and Dark as well as taking care of them. But that really didn't matter much to him. All he knows is that he has to make them better at all costs… his closest friends…

"No," Green shook his head. "It's fine."

"And that's why we have to go to school instead of you." Blue pointed out.

"It's not like I want to skip classes and replace my absence with you guys." Green defended.

"Indeed. You know, just knowing that he, Green, will get replaced by you is a complete and total ridicule on his part. Can you imagine… getting replaced by someone like you? One would be ashamed to have you as a persona. That's a very respectable sacrifice." Vio bowed down his head to honor Green.

"Well, EXCUUUUUUUUUUUUUUSE me, Vio!" Blue yelled at him and crossed his arms, then tried to count to ten before he completely loses his temper again.

Green just sighed and went on with his business. He ascended the stairs quietly so as not to disturb the other Links' conversation, as well as his grandfather who was just working on his sword. It was only yesterday that his grandfather came home from the week's affair, and he was already up and at those weapons to be forged.

As for them, it has already been three days that his friends lay in bed.

He approached the door to the guest room and carefully twisted the knob. As he pushed the door aside gingerly, he peeked inside to see how his friends were doing…

Both were sound asleep. The blanket of the black-haired boy barely even covered him anymore; this was probably due to his restless twisting and turning in his sleep. The lavender-haired boy, on the other hand, was tucked in his blanket neatly; sleeping as peaceful as an angel. It was strange, considering that Vaati once was a very restless sleeper. At least, that's what the two Links once told him.

Green, or Link as Vaati fondly called the hero, sat by Vaati's side. The guest room has two beds just across each other. It was a fair-sized room, so in a sense, Link was sitting just between the two on his little cushioned chair. He turned to Vaati who apparently has an angelic smile in his sleep.

_'Good…'_ thought Link. _'Wonder why he's so calm sleeping now…'_

He thought about it for a moment…

_'Oh… maybe… maybe when we helped him there… right.'_ he looked once more at the calm face._ 'Yeah… maybe when we helped him with accepting himself… he finally had peace in his mind… in his being…'_

He smiled at the pleasant thought.

Link was just staring at Vaati's serene face when arms suddenly grabbed him from behind!

"Why haaalllooooooo there, light self!"

"Dark!" Link burst out, looking at the owner of the arms.

Dark let go of Link and smiled. He stretched out his arms as he yawned, showing that he just woke up from his beauty sleep.

"Are you okay now, Dark?" Link inquired, looking a bit worried.

"Yep. Hey, don't worry 'bout it." smiled Dark, raising a brow. "Actually, I'm okay since this past Saturday."

"And…" Link started counting the days with his fingers. "… Monday… it's Monday so that makes it… you were already fine these past two days?!"

"Yep."

"So in other words, you're just cutting classes, aren't you?"

"In a legal waaaay~!" Dark waggled his finger at Link. "Even Grandpa insisted that I stay in bed, and I think he's the only one that knows that I'm already okay. Trust me; all we've been doing was talk with each other ever since Ezlo left this past Sunday!" He smiled, knowing that once again, Link is ticked off by his words.

Link just made a face and then turned to his sleeping friend. The sleeping boy let out a hushed groan and slowly opened his ruby eyes. He moved his irises around and tried to take a glimpse of his surroundings. He stayed down on the bed, not moving a muscle. Looking up at who was looking down upon him, he smiled once more.

"L-Link… oh, I mean, Green…" he whispered.

Link shook his head. "No… you can call me by my name now. They're all downstairs anyway."

"Link…" Vaati smiled. "It's been a while since I called your name…"

Vaati then stretched out his arms upward, reaching for the boy clad in green. Link was alert enough to be urged to lend out a helping hand to the faint boy.

But instead of accepting Link's assistance, the pale boy extended his arms even more and embraced the hero as he sat up. He snuggled against him and said, "Thank you… thank you so much, Link…"

Both of them blushed and closed their eyes for it was that moment that they show intimacy in their friendship.

"Don't mention it, Vaati…" he said, with that gentle, assuring voice that he always had. He rubbed Vaati's back tenderly as he hugged him back.

"Hey, what about me?" Dark raised.

"Oh, Dark… I'll never forget about you…" Vaati wanted to jump out of his bed and embrace him too, but Dark himself ran to his side and embraced the both of them tightly.

"Ahaha… Dark." Link said, letting out an uneasy face.

"D'aaaawwwwww… you two are the best friends a shadow could ever have… EVAH!" Dark cuddled up to his friends.

"Wait…" Vaati suddenly remembered something. "… Where's Master…?"

"Ezlo? Back to your world. He told us to take care of you."

After that statement, the boys heard knocks on their door. They were three gentle knocks, and upon hearing it, Link immediately knew who it was.

"Link… do you have a moment?" a voice was heard. It was Smith.

"Sure, grandpa. What is it?"

The door creaked open and out came his grandfather with a familiar face. At that, Vaati's eyes widened with astonishment.

"M-Master…" he slowly backed away, covering his face with his silky lavender locks and his blanket. He was practically sweating bullets, just knowing his master's presence was within his reach. Then, he heard footsteps… tiny footsteps that sounded so big to him…

"Vaati…"

As he gathered up all his courage, he looked up to see his master's face once more. The elder has once more, grown himself to Hylian size.

"…" Vaati tried to think of what to do and what to say. "M-Master… I'm so sorry…"

Tears began to roll down his warm cheeks, of which one was scarred upon his first-ever transformation. He covered his face with his little pale hands as he silently sobbed.

"Vaati, look at me." the elder spoke to him once more.

Of course, the disciple obeyed his master and looked up to him with red eyes, obviously puffed because of crying.

"You needn't apologize, my dear boy. You have done nothing wrong."

Hearing this, Vaati was relieved and grinned at the master magician. "Thank you, Master…"

"Link." said Ezlo, turning to the boy in green. His eyes brightened as he continued, "Thank you."

Link nodded as a sign of accepting his thanks. The elder then turned to the boy in black, giving him a stern face. Dark knew that the Minish didn't like him much from the very beginning… but what's this?

Ezlo gave him a smile, apparently one that he thought that belonged to someone else like a hero; like Link.

"Thank you, my boy. You weren't such a bad boy after all." he gave Dark a slight pinch on the face.

"Heh." was all that Dark could say.

"If you don't mind, I'll be leaving you. I'll have to take care of my sword." Smith politely interrupted.

"Oh, of course. We don't mind." Ezlo replied.

At this, Smith just nodded at him and proceeded his way downstairs. This left the three youngsters and the elder alone in the room.

"Wait…" Link remembered what he always wanted to know from the two Minish. "I've been meaning to ask this from you; I hope you don't mind."

"Fire away, as you young people say." Ezlo replied.

"Ezlo… how come is it that…" Link looked at Dark. The black-haired youngster simply raised a brow and gave him a signal to go on with his statement. The blonde inhaled deeply and let out a sigh.

"How come is it that no one else seems to remember Vaati?" He asked.

Vaati bowed down his head for he obviously knew the answer. He just waited for his master's explanation. _'Here goes… now they'll know what happened…'_

"Link…" Ezlo said as he sat on the chair before the teenagers. Vaati was between the two Links, their eyes focused on the elder.

"It's because of me." he simply replied.

"Wh-what?" uttered Dark, for it seems that even he can't comprehend the Minish's words.

"Ezlo, what exactly do you mean?" Link asked.

"I mean what I say. It's because of me…" he let out a deep sigh, preparing for an explanation he has to come up with.

"You see, Link… I cast a spell on everyone that he knew… how? Simple. Through the mechanics of my magic. Magic requires a lot of thinking… and a lot of feeling." he looked up at them.

"Vaati…" Link remembered how Vaati cast a healing spell on them back in their battle, despite the fact that he was incredibly weak at the time.

"So that's why… I cast magic on all of you who have met him. The magic that you will forget that Vaati ever existed in your life. But it seems that it didn't work on the two of you." he looked at the two Links.

"Oh… right! It didn't!" Dark blurted, his eyes widened upon realization. "But why, pray tell, didn't it work on just US?"

"It is because of the cap that I gave you, Link… remember?"

_'Yes… that was why Zelda and the villagers didn't remember a thing about me… and that was why I felt so alone… no one… no one remembers me… But why… of all people… why did it have to be you…? Why did you have to be the true wielder of this cap?! WHY?!'_

Those words of the shadow of Vaati resonated in Link's head as Ezlo reminded him of the Minish Cap.

"You don't mean…" Link's eyes widened upon the realization of the truth.

"Yes… that's it." Ezlo smiled at the hero. "You didn't forget him because you were the wielder of that cap. That cap wields unimaginable powers, so it may cause a great disaster in the wrong hands. But on the other hand, when given to someone good, miraculous things may happen."

"Yes, Link… you deserve the cap." Vaati gave out the same peaceful smile. "You… you are the righteous wielder."

"Wait… what about me?" Dark inquired.

"Oh… since you were basically the hero's shadow, you were affected as well." Ezlo elaborated.

"Oh… right…" Dark remarked. He remembered that he was always by Link, no matter what; unlike the other three alter egos of Link that only appeared in certain circumstances of his life. He was practically doing what the hero was doing; as a shadow.

"Now you know the truth." spoke Ezlo.

"Wait… but why did you let him roam around in Hyrule?" asked Link, quite puzzled.

"Because… I wanted him to have a new life."

"New life?"

"Yes. Just for him to have a fresh start with the other people here. Apparently, he didn't want to stay in our village for long because he felt like he yearned for something else outside of our little world."

It was then that the shadow's lines resonated once more in Link's head:

_'But why… of all people… why did it have to be you…?'_ the words still resonated in the hero's mind. He tried to connect another phrase to the sentence. _'Why did it have to be you… only you that remembers me…? You who tried to kill me before with your own hands…? WHY?!'_

_'I guess knowing that, the shadow writhed in pain…'_ Link thought as he analyzed the shadow's true message to him.

"Well… I guess it's not such a bad thing." the hero uttered. Vaati suddenly looked at his face which was bowing down. "If we DID forget about Vaati… I would've missed out a lot this past semester break."

Vaati's eyes widened for he couldn't believe what he was hearing. The hero's sky blue eyes met the ex-villain's ruby eyes.

"Link… have I ever told you that I envied you in all levels?" Vaati hesitated, for he wasn't so sure of what he was saying. "… I envied you… you had a lot of friends, you lived normally, you looked normal… you… you were considered a hero, for heaven's sake! I envied your smile… it was so genuine!"

Vaati turned his head away, feeling very embarrassed with what he just said.

"Vaati… your smile IS genuine." Link countered. "It's one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen."

Vaati looked at Link, quite surprised. He couldn't dare utter any more words after hearing Link's words of kindness once more. All he could do was let a tear trickle down his cheek and hug Link once more. This time, he was crying as he tightened his grip on Link.

"There, there…" the hero gently patted the ex-villain.

"And besides… don't you just consider yourself awesome?" Dark added. "I mean, you're waaaaaaaay smarter than us, I just know it. If you could only be in school with us, I'm sure you'd do so well in magic arts that you'll replace all our n00b teachers!"

"No… to the other Minish, I'm just another threat… as far as I'm concerned… I'm more of a threat than mischievous Hylian kids who try and intrude our dwelling plus the assailant chuchu jelly…"

"But now, ya ain't." Dark opposed. "Now, you're just like one of us. Heck, all of us, even you, took care of your own shadow. And what did the shadow do? He completely turned over a new leaf. And just look at you now!"

Dark pinched Vaati and gently pulled his face over to look at his. "Now, you're all so calm and happy!"

"I… I guess so…"

"Come on… BIIIIIIIIIIIIG HUG!" Dark opened his arms wide around his two friends and squeezed them tightly in his grasp.

"A…Akkhh!" groaned Link. "I… I can't… BREATHE!"

"Nnnnhh… Dark…" Vaati's face turned... a bit more purple than it should.

"Hahaha, I love you guys!"

Ezlo just smiled at the three boys having so much fun with each other.

That day ended with just so much fun with the boys. Of course, not even homework can let them down! The five Links and the only Vaati helped each other answering the assignments for the day. But wait, Ezlo was in it, too! He answered the questions so quick that the others can't jot down all the answers he's dictating!

The next day…

"All right, Link. Who invented the telephone?"

"Oh, Ma'am! I know that! I know that, hahaha!" Link boasted.

It was another school day, and it was their science session. Link rose from his seat, looking as proud as ever.

"All right then, what's your answer?"

"Graham Crackers!"

"Errmm…"

The whole class laughed at his answer. They never knew that Link was such a comedian!

"And I thought that Link was the goody-good guy!" said one of the male students.

"Tch! Of course I wasn't so sure about that!" Link tried to explain, although with so much aggression in his tone. _'Grrr… how does Green keep up with this?! This is bull, that's what it is!'_

"Tsk, you got the wrong answer." the teacher informed. Link, or Blue, just took his seat and tried to listen to the discussion.

_'Oh, well… I'm sure Green's name will be so…'_ Blue giggled a bit at the idea.

The day after that…

"All right, Link. Give me a sensible answer this time. The last time, you gave me candy apples for an answer. That same day, when I asked you what grow foods are abundant in, I gave you clues: it starts with a 'p' and ends with an 'n', and what did you answer?"

"What DID I answer, Ma'am?"

"Pronoun."

"Dear Lord." Link exclaimed as he was so shocked, although not exaggerated.

"And just yesterday, you gave 'Graham Crackers' as an answer to my question! I'll give you one last chance, Link… Let me ask you, tell me anything… ANYTHING you learned about the topic, 'circular motion.'"

Link smiled and chuckled. "Is that all, Ma'am?" he said as he raised a brow slightly.

"You'd better have a good answer." The teacher was quite annoyed by his proud gestures for she doubted it.

"Here goes…" Link took a deep breath. "Circular motion is simply defined a motion moving round and round in a circle, obviously defined by the topic's title. There are two basic types of circular motion, namely: rotation and revolution. Rotation is the motion of a body moving about in its OWN axis while revolution is the motion of a body moving around ANOTHER body."

Link stepped forward to the chalkboard. He illustrated charts of the circular movements and terms that he defined earlier. "And now, let me show you what centripetal and centrifugal force is. The centripetal force is that center-seeking force that causes an object to follow a circular path, and centrifugal force is the reaction to the centripetal force; simply put, it acts AWAY from the center. And now, let me show you what happens when you let go of an object in circular motion… since it's tangent to the direction of…"

"O-kayyy…" The teacher interrupted and ushered Link to take his seat.

"Was it enough, Ma'am?" Link inquired.

"Much too much. Thank you."

Link smiled and took his seat. He had that twinkle in his eyes and had every right to feel proud of himself._ 'Heehee, this is just my kind of class… I can't believe Red and Blue can't comprehend well to this class… tsk, tsk… I guess not even my alter egos can match up to my intellect.'_

The days went by until they noticed that it was the last school day of the week. It was already Friday night, and the boys decided to have a little get-together after another hectic week.

"Truth… or DARE!" shouted Dark as he laid a bottle on the floor as the boys formed a little circle around it.

"So who spins it?" Vio asked.

"Me! Me! MEEEE~!" volunteered Red as he eagerly raised and waved his hand around. He spun the bottle.

Round, round, round it goes until it stops… and points to the hero in green.

They all looked at him with an evil smile. It's as if their minds are completely unanimous despite their differences.

"Truth… or dare?" Dark raised a brow, smirking at the hero.

"Truth…" Green said. At that, Dark held Link's hands, the hero's fingers entwined together. "Tell us… do you…" Dark looked at the other Links.

"Do you love Vio?"

"No."

"Do you love Red?"

"No…"

"Do you love Blue?"

"Hell, no!"

At Link's last response, the two other Links began to giggle. Blue was getting furious yet again and looked like he wanted to smash Green with his mallet, but he didn't want to ruin the fun.

"Do you love Vaati?"

"N-no…"

"He's friggin blushing!" Red taunted.

Dark tightened his grip. "Do you love Vaati?"

"Cut it out, Dark! I don't!" Green tried to get out of his grasp.

"Well, what do you want to do?"

"Let's just spin the bottle again!" Green shouted. He got ticked off; he never blushed, but they kept on insisting that he did._ 'I never knew these guys were into this… they sound like schoolgirls!'_

Spin, spin, spin… this time, the bottle pointed to Dark as it stopped.

_'Revenge…'_ thought Link. "All right, Dark… truth or dare?"

"Dare." Dark said without hesitation. "I'm getting tired of doing 'truth' all the time, you guys never really make my hands hurt."

"Okayyy…" the Links said in unison. They looked at Dark so intently; especially Green.

"Dark, I dares ya to…" Green giggled, as well as the other Links. "I dare you to…" But the giggling continued and interrupted what he was about to say.

"Spit it out already." Dark said, growing a bit impatient.

"… Kiss Vaati."

Vaati blushed and stared at Dark with an obvious shock in his face.

"Seriously?" Dark asked, but it seemed like he was just asking a normal question for he had an almost blank expression on his face.

"Do it! You have no idea how many girls would love to do that!" Green laughed. He knew it was too ridiculous for Dark to do.

"All right." he turned to Vaati with intent eyes causing the Minish to stand and back away from him.

Dark was getting a lot closer to Vaati now… closer… and closer… until he cornered the poor boy to the wall. Vaati's back was against the cold walls of Link's room as Dark pinned him by grabbing his wrists above his head with a single hand.

"D-dark… you're not going to do this… r-right…?" Vaati blushed as he pleaded Dark. He looked so scared.

"Work with me. We'll make them regret that they ever dared to make me do this." Dark winked.

"Wh-what? Da- mmmmmmphhh!" Vaati's words were cut…

From where the other boys stayed, they were shocked at what they saw. They saw that Dark was apparently cornering and kissing Vaati!

"D-Dark…" Green could not help but be a bit angry with his friend.

"What the heck?!" Blue uttered.

"He took it seriously…" Vio said as he gave himself a facepalm.

"Oooooh… and I thought that this only happened in drama!" Red stared at them. The remaining Links just stared at him, apparently disturbed by the fact that he COULD actually be watching drama and TV soaps…

Back to the two, Vaati just stared back at Dark as the black-haired youngster continued to "kiss" him. Dark put his palm on Vaati's mouth earlier causing him to be interrupted by what he wanted to say. Then he pretended to kiss him by putting his mouth on the OTHER side of his hand.

"Mmm…" Dark pretended to moan and finished off his "kiss" with Vaati. The lavender haired boy just stared at him and blushed… just looking at the faces at the other side of the room staring at the two of them made him want to laugh… but he had to keep it in.

The two returned to the group sitting on the floor.

"So, how was it?" Red asked innocently.

"Heavenly." Dark simply replied. Vaati remained silent and made a shocked face. Green went closer to Dark and started ranting at him.

"WHATTHEHECKDIDYOUDO?!" he shouted at his dark self.

"I kissed a boy and I loved it~!" Dark started singing happily. He now pretended to handle a lute in his hands.

"Lalala… I'm so happy that I could sing you guys a song~!  
Alas my love you do me wrong  
To cast me off discourteously  
For I have loved you so long  
Delighting in your company…" Dark began to sing the traditional English song, "Greensleeves" as he pretended to strum an invisible lute.

"YOU SPOONY BARD!" yelled Green at his shadow and collared him.

"-snort!-" The boys turned to the blushing Minish youth. "AHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!"

The boys born of the four swords were so surprised, as Dark was beginning to giggle. Green looked at the youth that he was collaring. He was turning red as he turned his head away and closed his eyes.

"I-it looked THAT realistic? AHAHAHAHAAAAAA! I can't believe it! -snort!-"

"What?" Green said, calming down; a bit puzzled.

"THAT would teach Y'ALL to dare ME to do THAT." Dark said, emphasizing his words.

The others, except for Red, laughed sheepishly.

_'Haha… right. What were we thinking…?'_ the three seemed to think in unison.

Just seeing that everyone was having fun with the whole get-together, Green decided to start a trivial game of bouncing on the bed. He jumped on his bed a lot of times urging everyone to join him in the fun. The others indeed followed him and they all jumped on the bed.

"WEEEEEE~!" Red seemed to enjoy it a lot… in fact, he looked like he enjoyed it the most among the others!

The night passed as they continued to have more fun, playing with Green's Wii, playing music with Dark's gadgets such as his iPod touch and PSP as well as his DS lite, as well as some other handhelds (he seemed to be updated with the latest gadgets), answering trivia questions with Vio, playing whack-a-mole with Blue's mallet, and playing hide-and-seek as Red suggested. It was almost dawn when they all decided to turn in for the day.

The next day, Green decided to have some grocery shopping with his buddies. They had to do it for Smith, who was already very busy taking care of his grandchild multiplied into five, plus the little sorcerer who had stopped by.

"We'll need…" Green started off.

"Lotsa muffins!" Red cheered as he put the goods in the cart.

"Lotsa chips!" shouted Blue as he dumped his bags of chips in the cart.

"Lotsa walnuts!" Vio said as he dumped a lot of expensive-looking walnuts in cases in their cart, both chocolate-coated and plain.

"No, no, and no." said Green sternly as he made a face.

"Lotsa spaghetti!" Dark said as he put the packed pasta and the spaghetti sauce in their cart.

"No!" Green denied. He started grabbing all the unwanted stuff from his shopping cart. "Now put those things back where they came from, or so help me…"

"Lotsa sweets… and stuffed toys!" Vaati said as he carried a bundle of combined sweets and stuffed toys, looking at the Links innocently.

"Err….." Green gave himself a facepalm. The others gave a grin of victory and put all their wanted goodies back in the cart, together with Vaati's. After all those goods that they wanted for themselves, they continued to shop for the goods that they really need.

As Green paid for the groceries, Vio tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, Link? We'll all go ahead, okay? We need to take care of… something back in the house." Vio explained.

"Huh, okay." Green said without giving it a second thought. He knew that Vio was the alter ego to be trusted for he was always reasonable in whatever he does. The other Links together with Vaati went back home.

Upon arriving home, Link; the green-clad hero, found that no one was downstairs. He looked around to find only the two fish they caught the earlier week, just swimming in their new and fully-decorated aquarium, complete with the bubbling machine. He looked at the forge, but just to find no one working there. The kitchen was empty as well…

_'They must be upstairs.'_ he thought. He just laid all the goods on the dining table and went on his way. He already passed by the living room.

His mind was fixed on going upstairs, but before his mind could work to make him do the task, he heard the door from upstairs open.

What he saw made his face twist with unexplainable sadness and astonishment.

From the door upstairs, he saw Vaati looking directly at him…

… and he was holding a luggage in his hands while sporting a backpack. Ezlo was behind the youngster, with a staff in hand. Vaati froze in his tracks for a while, but soon after he decided to go down. He went down the stairs gingerly as he approached the green hero.

"L-Link…" Vaati tried to start a decent conversation, but he couldn't do away with his trembling voice.

"Vaati… where are you going?" Link was completely bewildered. Soon after, the others followed Vaati downstairs. The other Links was with them all along; and so was his Grandpa Smith.

"I…" Tears began to well up in the pale boy's eyes. "Link…"

"Li… Green." Dark called out. His face was stern yet again. "It's already the weekend… you may not recall it, but Ezlo told us that Vaati would be coming along with him, remember? Those were his exact words… 'Vaati will be coming along with me this coming weekend to the Minish Village.' I guess you already fell asleep when we four overheard Grandpa and Ezlo talking."

"B-but why?!" Link reacted.

"Come along." called out Ezlo to his disciple. Vaati nodded at this. He looked sadly at Link one more time and took out something from his rucksack.

"V-Vaati…"

"I shall never forget… those most exciting moments you gave me… all of you." Vaati took Robin out of his rucksack and hugged it. His lips formed a little beam as tears slowly trickled from his eyes. He then decided to follow his master, although reluctantly.

"B-but… wait…" Link tried to think of something to persuade Vaati from going. "W-what about your other stuffed toys? They'll be lonely!" He said, referring to the stuff that Vaati bought earlier.

"I… I completely forgot about this… matter that I had to attend to…" Vaati said, the tears falling down even more. "Please… please take care of them for me…" the Minish tried to smile, but it turned out to be a wry one. He decided to follow his master without further ado and tried not to look at Link's sorrowful face; as sorrowful as his.

The two went out of the door with the Links and their grandfather following them. They went through the town of Hyrule, and past the fields and meadows with monsters lurking about. Of course, the Links did short work of this… but they, especially Dark and Green, couldn't get their minds off the fact that their friend would be leaving them so soon. Not long after, they finally approached the Minish Woods.

As always, the forest was always damp and refreshing to both the body and mind. They looked around some more until they came across the stump… the very same stump they always used to shrink themselves to Minish size, to enter the village…

"Vaati." The green hero said.

"L… Green."

"It's alright…" Vio explained. "We understand perfectly. You may call Green, 'Link'."

"Besides, we know that he's the only one you could possibly call 'Link'." Blue winked his eye at Vaati.

"So it's totally okay, Vaati~!" cheered Red.

"Link…" said Vaati, with the stuffed cucco still in his warm embrace. "Thank you… thank you for everything…" Once more, the warm tears started streaming down his face.

"No… thank YOU, Vaati." Link replied. "Thanks to you, my… OUR sem break was filled with so much excitement."

Vaati partially covered his mouth hearing Link's kind words. He looked up to the hero with so much gratitude.

"All right, everyone! Say CHEEEEESE!" Smith called out while holding an analog camera, trying to brighten up the atmosphere.

The Links gathered for a group picture dragging Vaati with them, when they noticed that Ezlo was nowhere to be seen.

"Master… Master! Master, where are you?" Vaati frantically called out; for fear that the elder may have left him because of impatience. "I… I need to go…" he said with so much sorrow, his mind going on top of the stump to transform back into a Minish again.

"No, you DON'T!" he heard a voice call.

"Seriously… he may be so angry with me right no-"

"I'll be angry with you if you don't join the pictorial!" the voice shouted at him. He turned to see who it really was for the voice was undeniably familiar. His eyes widened with astonishment and joy as he decided to stay with the other Links for the pictorial.

He looked up at Link's head…

… his master was sitting on top of Link's head as his loyal green hat! He seemed to be very ready for the picture-taking!

"Well, Vaati? Won't you join us?" Ezlo asked, almost sarcastically.

"Sure!" his eyes twinkled. They all posed and smiled for the camera.

"CHEESE!" The camera lights flickered as Smith pushed down the shutter of the camera. Some more shots were taken before they called to stop the pictorial. After the pictorial, the boys decided to do something as a group.

"All right guys… on the count of three…" Vio gave out a signal. All the youngsters gathered in a group hug position.

Vio started counting. "In one… two…"

"THREE!" They all screamed and jumped excitedly in their group hug. Of course, they all laughed heartily at their group hug.

"Oh, I'll never forget this!" Vaati exclaimed tears almost coming out from his eyes.

"… Well…" Link turned to his pale, lavender-haired friend. "I guess this is it, huh?"

The two boys looked at the stump. As they looked, Ezlo jumped onto Vaati's head as the young Hylian-Minish took him off and gently laid him on the stump.

"Goodbye, Link…"

"Goodbye…"

They both gave each other a very tight hug. It was a very intimate hug, knowing that they won't be seeing each other in who knows how long. When they let go, their eyes met once more before Vaati slowly inched his way to the stump.

"Goodbye…" the young Hylian-Minish gave out a smile with tears running down his cheeks.

"Goodbye…" they said one by one with their own intonations. Red seemed to be sad yet so cheerful, Blue seemed to hide his own feelings for the Minish, Vio tried not to cry, and Dark seemed to be so sad about the whole thing.

"Just don't forget about us… okay?" Dark told him with a somehow deep, solemn tone.

Vaati nodded as he closed his eyes and began chanting with his master. He could not stop crying as he chanted and felt his body slowly transforming into something else. Everyone could feel the same wind that they once felt every time Vaati was with them… soft, calm, gentle, and assuring.

After 2 weeks…

"Nnnnhhh… nggghh…" someone twisted and turned in a minty-green blanket. "What…? It's that time of the day already…? 10:00 AM….."

It was Link. He sat on his bed and read his digital alarm clock. "10:00 AM…"

Meanwhile, Smith was preparing breakfast on the table. Somehow, he knew just what time his grandson would wake up. The shadow of his grandson was sitting there in one of the dining chairs, fiddling with the utensils.

"In 3… 2… 1…" Dark counted.

"EEEYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG H! I'M LAAAATE!" they heard a shout from upstairs and a chaotic waltz of footsteps about in the upper floor.

"… Right on cue." Dark concluded, giving a thumb up to himself with his left hand.

Smith looked at the stairs from the dining room, expecting his grandson… and here he is. As usual, his attire was obviously put in a hurry for it was such a mess. He hurriedly settled on the dining table and performed his secret talent - eating a bowl full of hot porridge in just thirty seconds.

"Heck, Link… you could be a candidate in 'Thirty Minutes to Fame'!" Dark complemented quite sarcastically. "Imagine how rich you'll be… I'm all fine, I got all the gadgets I need now… an iPod touch, an iPhone, a PSP, a DS lite, a Wii like yours (except that it's black), a normal cell phone, a multi-purpose cell phone, a PS2, a PSX, a PS3, a GameCube, a FamiCom which is now a collector's item, a normal MP3 player, an MP4, a regular Windows Vista laptop, a notebook, a PC…"

Dark wasn't finished counting all his gadgets when he noticed that Link was already putting his bowl on the sink, ready to be washed for later.

"I'M LATE, I'M LATE, I'M LAAAAAAAAAAAAATE!" Link screamed as he dashed for the door dragging Dark with him.

"Goodbye, GrampAAAaaaAAaaAAaa~!" Dark's pitch slid from high to low as Link tugged him from behind in such a high speed. "Whoa! Control your speed, mah boOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooiiiiIIII II!"

As soon as they reached the entrance of the village, Zelda approached them. She apparently has been waiting for a long time since she was treating herself with a strawberry-flavored Sprite float.

"Link! So nice of you to drop by." Zelda said.

"I'm so sorry… my… my alarm clock didn't go off today…" Link said, excusing himself. He was panting from all that running.

"Nope. I heard it. You set it to snooze ever five minutes that it rang. I think it started what… 9:00 AM?" Dark countered him.

"Thanks. A. Lot." Link made a face and hit Dark's head with his hat from behind. Dark merely gave out another smile of triumph over the hero.

"In any case, Link… shall we go to the playground?" Zelda said, seeming not to mind Link's tardiness.

"Oh? Uh… sure." Link remembered that day just a few weeks ago. 'It just seemed so fast…'

The three arrived at the playground. Dark behaved like a child who just got free from classes and into the fresh summer. "LAST ONE TO THE MONKEY BARS IS A GANONDORK!"

_'Ganondorf… as he said it… tall, dark, and handsome… he looked up to that guy then…? Short, pale, and… ugly…'_ Link randomly recalled in his head, he didn't realize until he saw the two on the monkey bars. Dark was sitting on top of it while Zelda was just beside it, holding a rail of one of the two ladders in her hand. Link approached them and looked up to Dark.

_'Hi! Are you a new kid? Never seen you in class! And classes just started this month!'_ Link could hear his own words in his head.

_'Um, in that case…'_ he could see his hand stretching upwards._ 'Link.'_

He could see the boy staring at him, filled with curiosity.

_'I-I'm… I shouldn't really be talking to strangers…'_

_'Strangers?! Strangers, my big fat…'_ once again, those words of doubt that filled his head filled it once more. _'Don't worry, I won't bite!'_

"Dude, you okay?" Dark said snapping his fingers at the hero. The hero looked up to him and nodded, snapping out of his flashbacks. "You didn't look like it. You've been acting this way even before Zelda came home from her vacation… that was like, around a week ago?"

"No… don't worry. I'm okay." Link smiled, although it wasn't as vibrant as the one that he always gave before.

"If you say so…" Dark said, still doubting Link's words.

"Hey look! Link, aren't they…?" Zelda pointed to the swingset, which has four swings.

"W-wha…?" Link saw three people occupying the latter seats but one in the furthest left. Three people… that looked exactly like him!

"WHEEEEEEEEEEE~! Hi, Green~!" said the one who swung the highest just next to the empty seat, in a red tunic.

"How're you doing, pal?" said the other one having fun on his swing seat beside the red one, in a blue attire.

"It's been a while… almost been a week." said the one in the farthest right, giving himself a gentle push. He was in a purple tunic.

"R-Red… Blue… Vio!" Green rushed to his alter egos. "What are you all doing here?"

"Having fun!" said Red.

"Wait… how did… how did you get out of the seal?" Green wondered for he never recalled letting them out after sealing them a week ago.

"Oh… Dark helped you… remember?" Vio tried to help him recall.

"Dark…?" Green's mind began to focus on what happened this week…

_'Four Swords… teeheehee… lend me your powahhh~ hic!'_ Green twitched remembering what he had done around two days ago.

It was nighttime, and he and Dark accidentally drank Smith's power drinks which was mostly alcohol. They thought it was their chilled flavored green tea, but no. It was then that Dark called his pet and brought a mirror to the shrine so that he can transport Link and himself through the Dark Mirror, probably thinking it was a party place. When Dark tried to pull the sword, he slumped over and fell asleep.

Link pushed him aside. "BAH! Let a REAL man do the -hic!- joooob…"

Then it happened.

"Hahaha… right…" Link chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Hahaha, let's just have fun! Green!" Red called out as he let out the innocent, childish laughter as he enjoyed the swing.

Link looked at the empty seat… somehow; he visualized the lavender-haired boy he once saw in the same empty seat he's looking at right now staring at him with those lonely eyes that yearned for friendship… he shook his head, and instantly, the vision was gone. _'Vaati…'_

He sat on the empty swing seat with the other Links and tried his best to forget all what he thought about the boy in his memory. The Links swung in a wave-like fashion, such that the first the swung high was Green, then Red, then Blue, then Vio. He did forget about his worries after a while, but just as soon as they drifted away, here they came again… troubling him. He indeed missed the lavender-haired boy, his angelic smile as well as his voice, his boisterous, enlightening laughter; all of him… he missed him.

"Princess, your father is calling you!" said a voice. It was one of the guards of the palace. This guard seemed a lot younger than all the other guards, considering that he looked like he was only a few years older than Link, approximately 17. He was one of the "trainees" in the palace.

"Oh, pooh. Well, I'm so sorry to leave you guys so soon…" Zelda regretted.

"-siiiigh!- If only SOMEONE here woke up earlier…" Dark taunted, still sitting on the monkey bars.

Link did not mind, instead, he seemed to focus on the blue sky after bidding Zelda goodbye. The winds were once again gentle and refreshing, and it carried about beautiful petals and leaves of the flowers and trees.

_'Something like what Vaati would want to show me…'_ he thought once again.

"Guys… if you don't mind… I'll just be getting something back home…" called out Link. _'I need to get one of Vaati's stuffed toys to keep me company… or this'll keep up…'_ Link thought as the winds continued to blow against his face.

"Link… I'll come with you." Dark said, gliding away from the monkey bars and settling on the ground as he walked Link back home.

"Thanks…" Link said with a wry smile.

"See ya~!" Red waved goodbye.

"You come back here, you hear?" Blue urged them.

"All right, be careful on your way." said Vio, holding a book in hand while giving himself a gentle push.

As the boys arrived at the doorstep of the house, Link touched the knob. However, he stopped twisting it and looked upwards at the heavens. He could still see the petals hovering above their heads…

"Isn't it beautiful, Dark…?" Link said, just staring at the beautiful petals dancing above their heads.

"… Meh." Dark twisted the knob and proceeded inside. "…"

"If only… if only he was here, eh, Dark?" Link said, subconsciously going inside the house. He stepped in the living room.

"Okay, my dear boy, just take those inside the fireplace there, you see?"

"Right away, sir!"

Link turned as he heard the two voices in the forge. He noticed that Dark was nowhere in sight… but there was something in the voices that surprised him… He rushed into the forge room.

"Well done!" Smith said.

With Smith was a youngster in a ponytail, turning back from them. It appears that they were busy with the forging business. The youngster took care of the fireplace, while Smith took care of the forging itself. Dark was just there, watching them with a stare. He was just standing there…

"Dark… aren't you gonna accompany me upstairs?" Link called out and tugged his friend's arm.

The two in the forge looked at them, now recognizing their presence.

Link stared at the youngster with Smith…

He had beautiful lavender hair kept in a ponytail with a red bow and a lock of hair covering his right eye. His eyes are a beautiful hue of ruby, and his fair skin radiated a beautiful tone of purplish ivory. Sure he was perspiring due to the work he's into, but it never affected his appearance. And one thing's for sure for Link…

… this boy had that scar under his left eye…

Silence ensued in the forge for a few seconds…

"…Link?" the youngster said as he broke the silence. His ruby eyes began to well up tears.

"… No…" Link uttered.

"…" Dark could not say anything.

"LINK!" the youngster rushed to the green clad hero as he let out his tears and untied the red ribbon that his hair, revealing his soft, flowing, lavender hair.

"… VAATI!" The two boys gave each other a tight hug as if they have never seen each other in years. It was the same as before; the same hug that they shared before the young Minish left them weeks ago.

"I'm so glad that you're here!" cried Link, tears also trickling down his face.

"Oh, Link…"

"Vaati…" they both heard a deep tone. They turned and saw Dark approaching them.

"DARK!" shouted Vaati with joy and practically glomped him as well. He cuddled up in Dark's arms as he did with Link. "I thought I'd never see you guys again…"

Link returned to his senses and looked at his grandfather. "G-Grandpa… how?"

Smith just gave him a chuckle and shrugged his shoulders. It seems that the old man was also puzzled at the Minish's sudden return. Nonetheless, all he really cared about was that Vaati was safe and the fact that he returned.

Link turned to his friends once more; it appears that Dark also missed Vaati so much that he was spinning in place as he hugged him, causing the Minish to squeal in joy and surprise. When Dark finally settled, he looked at Vaati once more and gave him such a tight embrace. Vaati didn't care; in fact, he hugged him back tightly! Just seeing their happy faces made Link so happy as well.

As night had fallen on them, they prepared themselves for sleep; taking a nice shower and further taking care of their hygiene. The three settled in Link's room as they did in the earlier weeks. Because of so much longing for each other in weeks, they all decided to sleep on the bed again like they did before. Before Link lied down on his bed, he had called his other selves on his cell phone to apologize not being able to return.

That night, Link's two friends fell asleep soundly; they even cuddled up to each other in their sleep. The hero on the other hand, could not sleep. Something was bothering him… just why did Vaati return to them? He just had to find out when he spotted something trying to climb in their window… it had small hands, and it seemed to be wearing something long…

"THIEF! THIEF!" shouted Link at the top of his lungs. The two scrambled upon hearing this. Vaati hid behind Dark as the black-clad youth grabbed hold of his pillow. Link also grabbed a pillow. Seeing that his two friends were so brave, Vaati gathered all his courage and grabbed Link's last pillow lying on the bed.

"What on ea-" was what the "thief" could only say as the two took advantage of his arrival from the window. The two buried him in pillows, beating him up as hard as they could. Vaati lunged in to help them and tried to beat the intruder as hard as he could, but upon seeing the intruder's face, he dropped his pillow and stumbled to the ground.

"N-no… please… please stop it…" Vaati pleaded the other two who didn't stop beating the intruder.

"Why?" Link turned to him then suddenly felt a whack on his head.

"That's why…" Vaati pointed.

"Oh noes…" Link said; looking a bit frightened realizing who he had just beaten up.

The intruder spat out feathers that the pillow emitted after being beaten along with the "thief". The intruder was none other than…

"M-master… please forgive us! Please… please!" Vaati knelt down and bowed his head.

Dark just looked at the elder, then to his pillow. He looked once more at the elder and beat him again with the pillow.

"Ach! Now see here!" shouted the elder, quite perturbed by the youth's rude actions.

"Lalala~!" taunted Dark.

"Ezlo… why are you here, anyway?" Link wondered.

"I'm sure that you have questions in mind, my boy." Ezlo said. He looked at the three. "You see… Vaati here…" he looked at his disciple.

"Y-yes, Master?"

"He seemed so… um, Vaati, do you mind getting me a glass of water downstairs?" Ezlo commanded the youth.

"R-right away!" the Minish youth rushed outside the room and almost slammed the door behind him.

"As I was saying… Vaati seemed so… lonely back in the village." Ezlo explained.

"R-really?" Link said; his eyes widened a bit.

"Yes… he would always daze out, or daydream, or just stare out the window in such a distance I don't know… he would just stay in the house, stay in his room, or do what I order him to… that's just it." Ezlo shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "And that's how I figured… you two were his happiness."

"Vaati…" Link uttered. "I had no idea… so he also…"

"Hm?" Ezlo was a bit confused at Link's last statement.

"You see… Link here missed Vaati a lot too… and so did I. But he was the one acting really weird." Dark explained to the elder.

"Master! Here you go!" Vaati kicked the door open, handing out a glassful of water to Ezlo.

"Thank you, my dear boy…" Ezlo drank all of it and looked at the three of them. "Link… Dark… I leave him in your hands."

The three were surprised by what the elder just told them. Link finally understood and nodded. Dark simply gave out a slight smile. Vaati on the other hand was really confused.

"Master… what…"

"Now, now, Vaati. I'll check up on you constantly. When I have the time, I'll visit you. It's just that, well… Dark and Link here… I wanted to give them a sense of responsibility."

"B-but Master… I don't want to be a burden to them…"

"And the same goes to you too… you'd have to be the nicest that you are to them, all right? That's your responsibility now… you have to keep up with them… live with them… not as a guest, but as one of them."

Vaati just stared at his master. Soon after, he embraced his master and gave him a smile that clearly said, "Thank you."

Ezlo smiled at his disciple and jumped out of window. As the three checked out how the elder was doing, all that they saw was bushes… and a quick and sudden glow in it.

"Master… he's going home…" Vaati concluded.

"Welcome home." Link said, patting Vaati by the shoulder.

Dark put his arm around Vaati's shoulders. The pale youth looked up at his taller friends just beside him and smiled. He was so happy to know that he was finally accepted, and that he found out where he truly belonged to. For all of them, it was the beginning of a new friendship; the beginning of a brighter day.


	11. Epilogue of an Aftermath

**Epilogue (Bonus Chapter): Epilogue of an Aftermath**

"Vaati? Vaati! Where are you?"

Link called out in his room to his friend. He looked around: there was his bed and on it were Dark's beloved gadgets. Just beside its foot is a big pile of Vaati's plushies which looked rather like a mountain. His study table is just where it always was; beside the window where Ezlo attempted to get inside the nights ago, probably three weeks from now.

"Vaati!" _'Man, where could that guy be?!'_

He then moved from the spot where he stood; near the door, then started to search for the long-haired boy.

He peered under the bed but only found thick layers of dust underneath it.

_'I guess I should clean up if I have the time… and the patience.'_

"Go on, Gramps. Pull my finger." the voice seemed to come from the guest's room. It was so loud that he could hear perfectly what was going on.

_'Tsk… Dark's at it again…'_thought Link as he shrugged his shoulders and continued his search. He turned his head to the right where his bed stayed. He looked at the giant pile of plushies and gave out a sly smile.

"Oh, Vaati… that is your worst hiding place yet!" he said proudly.

He unraveled the mountain of plushies as he continued to taunt Vaati.

"Come on, no use hiding now!" he practically dived into the pile of stuffed toys.

"Link?"

"Gotcha! Wait, where ARE you?" Link wiggled his legs around, feeling that he was already upside down due to diving in head-first.

"Uhhhh… Link… your… kilt?"

"What?" he tried to get himself out of the pile. He turned around and felt sheepish as he saw the boy he had been looking for, holding a glass of water in hand. "A… ahaha…"

"Ummm… Link. What were you doing plushie-diving like that?" Vaati inquired. The Hylian-Minish was still in his tunic-only getup, meaning it was still a bit early in the morning. He looked at Link quite inquisitively, apparently entertained seeing the hero do such a thing.

"Ummm… nothing… I thought…"

The two were surprised at what they just heard from next door…

"BWAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAA AAAA!"

"Looks like he did it again…" Link muttered.

The door to Link's room burst open, allowing a sprightly Dark Link almost stumbling onto the floor; laughing his heart out.

"Oh my God GAAAHAHAHAAA OH GOD, lalalalalalolololol MWAHAHAAAA!"

"Um…" Vaati was confused. He didn't know what exactly went on.

"Oh, here. Vaati, pull my finger." Dark offered a hand. "Any finger at all."

Vaati being confused and all didn't mind and did as Dark asked him to. And when he did…

"POOT!" A sudden burst of wind… from the lower outlet.

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" Dark rolled on the floor, laughing his guts out. Vaati felt embarrassed and felt like laughing. Surely enough, he blushed as a result.

"Er, Dark? Aren't you forgetting something?" Link called out to his alter ego.

"Hm? Oh, right." The black-haired boy tugged the blonde along with him.

"Are you sure we're fine in our night outfits?" inquired the hero.

"Of coooourse~" Dark replied with ease.

"But… I feel awkward..." Link complained.

"The only thing that you changed is that you're not wearing your belt and your boots. Other than that, you're fine!"

"I'm sure you just want to boast about YOUR night outfit."

"Hey, why not? It's the red-clouded black cloak of awesomeness." he flaunted. "And besides, it's Vaati's outfit that we should be concerned about if ever he would come out. I mean, it looks like a short dress… and I…" Dark did not continue and blushed instead.

"What?"

"You saw it too, right? We should really give him shorts…"

Link blushed. "No! No, I didn't!" He tried to hit Dark with a friendly slap on the forehead.

"Teehee, it was indigo..." the shadow said, letting out a deceivingly cute beam as he blushed and partially put his hands on his mouth.

"You know what? If Vaati knew…"

"He does. Remember? When he used to be all active in his sleep? Thank goodness that he's not like that anymore. It's for his own good anyway…"

"Anyway… we're getting waaaaay off topic."

"Right."

The boys proceeded on their way into town.

Meanwhile, Vaati just minded his own business and peered out their window. He looked at the leaves that danced about the sweet melody of his friend, the wind. The petals of the blossoms of different flowers; may it be from the trees or the verdant grass, escorted the wind and the leaves.

Just looking at the beautiful scenery outside made him feel at ease, but during his reflection, it seemed as though something came across his mind that made him sigh.

_'In just a matter of days… just a few days… I will be as old as they are…'_

The ex-villain turned to his pile of plushies that was disturbed by Link earlier. He decided to fix them all up, with that matter filling up in his head.

_'Haha… I'm sure no one will remember it… after all… wait, what am I thinking? And just after Link encouraged me… no, I must think optimistically if I wish to be like him!'_

He then put the last plushie in place and decided to take Robin, who was the most special and dearest to him. He held the cucco tightly in his arms as he pondered more about himself.

_'In a few more days… I will be fourteen… just like them…'_

Vaati was definitely in Link's age group; although, we can say that he's younger than Link by a half a year. That was indeed another factor for him to look up to the hero.

"Hey, Vaati! Sorry we left you!" It was the hero's voice. The two Links entered the room once more.

"Yeah, I just got my little black Wii from my house since I forgot my little baby!" the shadow said with such a sweet tone, caressing the game console in his arms.

"Wow, that was fast! But I thought that your house is a bit far away from here, Dark." Vaati looked at the both of them, quite astonished by the speed of the two.

"Well, you forgot my special ability. Remember…?"

"Oh… ah! Right!"

He had just remembered Dark's special ability- to be able to teleport from one mirror to another. Technically, that was how he was brought to rescue a few weeks ago. Although he never witnessed it himself, Dark told him all about it after the incident was over and when they got back to their own lives.

Going back to reality, the Hylian-Minish noticed that the shadow was holding three oddly-colored Wii remotes. They were black, lime, and lavender.

"Well, wanna play, Vaati?" Dark offered a Wii remote that corresponded to Vaati's lavender hair.

"Yay! Why not?" the boy excitedly settled down on the floor and helped setting up the Wii. As usual, the trio had a good brawl; and as usual, Dark had the most wins in first place. It was almost amazing that he was good with almost all the characters he controlled; if not _ALL_of them in the roster.

"Well, I guess Gramps would be a bit angry with us now… when did we start playing?" the hero in green asked.

"Around… 7 this morning? Why?" the anti-hero in black questioned him back.

"Erm… well…"

The hero pointed to his digital alarm clock, and it read…

"13:00. So? …"

"…"

"…"

"13… o'clock? Wait…" Vaati started to think about the time. He wasn't very familiar with how the Hylians keep track of their time with the twenty four hour clock systems.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDGE!" the two Links cried in unison and simultaneously rushed out the room's door.

"Oh dear… I guess I'd better fix this up, then…"

The Minish decided to do as he said. Again, he pondered about how his birthday was coming so soon…

_'In just two more days… I'll be fourteen like them…'_he let out a sigh and continued fixing up the Wii. He put it in a box like Dark always did just to keep it absolutely safe.

"Hey, Vaati!" the blonde called out. It seems that the Links returned.

"Gramps just told us some things. You know, stuff to do. The usual." shrugged Dark.

"And hey, we gotta eat."

The three went down to have a hearty meal with the blacksmith. As consequence for being late, the three were ordered to fix the table and wash the dishes and such. Link was in charge of washing the dishes, Dark was to fix and wipe the table clean, and Vaati was to dry all the dishes and utensils that Link handed to him and put them all back in place. Sure it was tiring, but they enjoyed it a bit since it was another bonding moment for them, although not as pleasurable.

The days went by as they enjoyed playing and were occasionally scolded by Smith (depending on the situation). As usual, they also hunted down some chuchu jellies as the two Links got tempted to taste them, for they always wondered if all chuchu jellies tasted like green apple… maybe, JUST maybe… they also had different flavors like strawberry, blackberry…

"Ooh, how I wish we had almonds to feed them!" Dark gleamed.

"Huh?" Link could not comprehend his other self's track of thought.

"You know, almond jelly? Yum! We'll just have to find a brown or white chuchu jelly to match with it!"

"Ummmm…. Hahaha…" Link could only laugh at how crazy Dark thought of the matter.

"Chuchu jelly is edible?" Vaati inquired. He never intended that giant chuchu jelly in his shadow tower to be tasty… really.

"WHEEEEEE!" Dark ogled at all the chuchus squirming about in their pen. Different colors, sizes… "Oh gosh oh goshogoshgohgoshgohgosh…"

"Dark longs for chuchu now…"

"Chuchus pwn all! I swear… someday, I'll collect so many chuchus that it will be… OVER NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAND!" the black haired youth clenched his fist in excitement and cried out proud and happy tears.

"Oh no… here he goes…" Link rolled his eyes.

"ALL YOUR CHUCHUS ARE BELONG TO US!"

"Dark… srsly…" Link gave himself a facepalm.

"Someday… someday I'll be able to 'Chu-roll' you guys!"

"Chu-ro… LOLWHUT?!" Green burst in laughter as tears of immeasurable humor filled him up.

"Never gonna give CHU up, never gonna let CHU down…  
Never gonna run around and… desert CHU!" Dark started to sing and dance around, waving a chuchu around as he held it.  
"Never gonna make CHU cry, never gonna say goodbye,  
Never gonna tell a lie, and hurt CHU!"

"Oh for the love of… we've been chu-rolled!" Link practically rolled on the grassy ground, laughing his guts out.

"Mah boi, this chuchu is what all true warriors strive for!"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA! I -phhhw!- just wonder what Ganon's –phhhww!- up to!" Link tried to keep in his laughter.

"Your majesty, Ganon and his minions have seized the island of CHUCHUS!"

"GREAT! I'll grab my stuff!"

"WHAT?!" Vaati blushed and stared at Link.

"That's WRONG!" Dark hit Link's head with the chuchu. "You're not supposed to say that yet… and…" he looked at the blushing Vaati.

"Er… Vaati?" Link stared at him with wonder.

"Ooooooooh… and I thought that you were the innocent one among us… tell me, what did you THINK Link meant?"

"I…" Vaati turned away. "I never said anything!"

"But your eyes are telling me something!"

"No. I just turned away."

"Body gestures say all, hun."

"I wasn't thinking of anything… besides…" Vaati looked at him again with confident eyes. "Your chuchu's running away."

"N-nooooooo!" he started to throw childish tantrums. He then turned to the direction where the chuchu might have gone to. He began cursing the runaway jelly. "Oh, you… you son of a submariner! I hate, hate, hate, hate, HATE you!"

Yes, the days went by with their craziness and teen spirit, never ceasing to give them the excitement that they always seem to have.

Until…

_'It's my birthday… and no one's here…'_

Vaati let out a sigh as he peered out the window, all alone in Link's room. The silence was almost deafening; only the peaceful breeze seemed to disturb it.

_'Another year older… but have I really changed…?'_

Vaati's contemplation was disturbed as he heard the door creak.

There, the hero stood, wearing his casual outfit: a green polo over his white shirt that had a print of a shining triforce with a mini him wielding it. He was wearing his black pants to go with it.

"Come on, Vaati. Let's go to the mall. We need to have fun in the arcades again! And this time, I won't go easy on you!

"Sure!" Vaati took this challenge, and soon the two boys were in the arcades. They fought with each other in an arcade fighting game and…

"LINK! Take it easy on me! No… no! Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Grrrr… STOOOOOOP!" Vaati seemed to be taking this rather well.

Soon enough, they lost all credit and decided to eat. After all, Link just heard Vaati's tummy rumbling.

Link pointed to a pizza parlor where they could eat. Link talked to the waiter in private as Vaati made an excuse to go to the washroom. When the purple boy returned, Link was just there, waiting in the table in their cushioned seat. The Minish sat across the hero.

They had a friendly chat, and after a few minutes, there was the aromatic pizza served before them in all its cheesy goodness littered with all the juicy pineapple tidbits and pepperoni. They both ate the family-sized pizza with each slice worth about seven or eight inches long. They had about… four slices each person.

They both wiped their fingers clean, as well as their mouths. Feeling so full, they both rubbed their tummies. Now time to wait for the bill…

Here comes the waiter, but wait. What is that he's holding?

As he came closer, he laid a very large bowl of parfait on the table. There were all sorts of flavors that blended in the harmony: strawberry, vanilla, chocolate, pistachio, cookies and cream, double dutch… everything that you could ever think of blending in. It was fit for two; two spoons, two straws, two cherries on top of the ice cream…

"W-what the…?" the Minish was very astonished with the pleasant sight before him.

"Dig in!" Link his spoon with his left hand and started eating the ice cream.

The two began delightfully eating the treat. Wait, as if having cherries wasn't enough, there were also fresh bananas and ripe strawberries added to the mix! How tasty it was for the both of them!

As soon as they finished their food, Link asked for the check and paid for it in full. He seemed so happy that he closed his eyes and rubbed his tummy. Vaati did the same, as he never felt so full his entire life!

Although with much difficulty, the two tried to walk out of the restaurant and continued walking around the mall. Link asked permission that he would go to the washroom and told Vaati to wait for him just near the passage leading further in the washrooms.

As Vaati waited, here comes a youth approaching him and grabbed his arm roughly. He attempted to call for help but his mouth was covered with this youngster's hand. He was dragged into the nearby passage where no one seems to be using at the moment as he tried to struggle form his captor's grip.

"Will you shut up?" said the captor.

When he heard this, he stopped squirming and tried to look at the face of the youth.

To not give him a hard time, the youth took his cap off, finally revealing his eyes. There he was, with a short white top that revealed his abdomen with a tad shorter black jacket on it. Black pants were to go along with his unique sense of style, with the silver triforce pendant that dangled around his neck. His smiling crimson eyes stared into Vaati's ruby red eyes.

"D-Dark?"

"Haha, scared you, no?

"Sure did! What the heck…?"

Before Vaati could finish his words, Dark roughly pulled his arm yet again, dragging him.

"Come on."

The black-haired boy dragged his friend into a boutique. It was quite pleasant with well-ventilated utilities. Dark looked for anything that Vaati could wear…

"Go on. Go on! Try these out! Go! Go!" Dark pushed Vaati into of the fitting room cubicles.

After dressing up in an attire, Vaati went out for Dark's approval. Vaati was wearing a school boy's outfit.

"Nope." Dark just ditched it and Vaati went on dressing up yet again.

The Minish went out once again.

"Too… ruffly." Dark said, just fixing his eyes on the ruffles of Vaati's collar. He was wearing a formal costume. It was a magenta suit, adorned with expensive decorations. He wore magenta pants to go along with the suit, with a white ruffled cravat he wore around his neck. His wig was center-parted and grayish black in tone.

Following Dark's opinion, Vaati once again went in the cubicle and found something else.

"Cute." Dark said, giving a thumb up.

"No." Vaati declined for he was wearing a short dress with long sleeves paired with very long boots that covered his legs until half his thighs. The neckline was too loose to reveal his inner sleeveless garb. And of course, that was done for fashion.

Following his own opinion, Vaati went in once again and wore something else…

Upon seeing the Minish dressed up…

"Ooh….. SEXY!" Dark's eyes sparkled; he gave the Minish thumbs up and smiled so widely. He whistled a tune in sheer approval.

"No. Absolutely. Definitely. **NO!**DARK!" Vaati blushed as he saw Dark's reaction. He grew almost scared of his own friend.

Dark shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. He then looked his friend once more. "Why not?"

"THAT is precisely why not! Stop staring at me like that!" Vaati said as he tried to cover himself up.

The Hylian-Minish wore the clothes of a villain that could be compared to his shadow self. He wore a silvery-lavender wig with a few feathers sticking out of where it parted. It parted on the left side of his head and extended up to this waist. His very short top that revealed his abdomen resembled shoulder pads that had white kimono sleeves extending from it. He didn't wear pants, but he wore something that revealed his thighs and resembled lower undergarments; and to compensate for his lack of pants, he wore extremely long boots that covered his legs until his thighs. He wore something like a robe that reached until his ankles, to cover his lower body's back.

"Come on, it's okay. Don't worry about it." Dark tried to comfort him, but to no avail. He still looked at the Minish with much intent from his eyes.

"Others are staring at me as well!"

"Who's that chick?" whispered one.

"I dunno, but…" another one said, ending his sentence with a whistle.

At that, Vaati went back inside the cubicle, blushing. He decided to take another shot at this, not wearing that revealing costume.

When he went out of the cubicle…

"Nice. Perfect." Dark gave him thumbs up once more, but this time he smiled decently at the Minish.

"Really?"

Vaati wore some kind of a suit, but this time, it suited his age even more. He wore something that covered his neck fully to go along with his suit that covered his ruffled inner garments. He wore slacks and shoes to complete the get up.

"How much?" Dark, getting his wallet, asked the cashier who put Vaati's used clothes in the plastic bag and let him go with the clothes he fitted.

The two then went out of the boutique. Dark looked straight ahead as they walked, and as for Vaati, he felt a bit sheepish after seeing how much Dark paid for his clothes. Blushing, he didn't dare talk to his friend, afraid of how the dark-haired boy may react. It didn't seem that Dark was angry with him though... but he felt that it was best he doesn't talk until the taller boy opened up a conversation on his own.

Dark stopped walking and looked straight ahead. Vaati stopped and stood by him, looking at where he may be staring at in the far distance. What he saw made him nervous.

Here comes the youth with the green polo, looking enraged. He stared at his dark self, who happened to stare at him back. The two Links started to have an argument between themselves, leaving Vaati out of the quarrel.

"I searched high and low for him, fearing that something bad happened to him! And now I see him here with you! Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Well, aren't you glad that he's okay? It's better rather than getting himself kidnapped. And besides, I saw no sight of you, so there."

"STILL!"

"Guys… please stop it…" Vaati tried to stop the two.

The two looked at him, then back to each other.

"Fine. Let's all take the electric car on the way to the nearest mall."

The mall they were in was actually part of a series of malls in the village. It belonged in a circle of a small city-like part just near their village, one of which many villagers and outsiders alike pay a visit to relieve themselves with its ambience.

They went to the mall's alternate exit/entrance and waited in line to ride in one of the electric cars that queued up in front. There were actually four electric cars in wait that would give them a brief tour of the circle of malls, and would drop them off a luxurious mall where most teenagers tend to hang out. It looked more futuristic, and it had more attractions that lures in more adolescents like them.

However, the mall they decided to go into in the first place aimed for everyone, namely the middle and lower classes since the goods in store were both of quality and were practically economic.

The electric car stopped by them. Finally, they were able to grab a seat. The car had 17 seats including the driver's seat up in front, three each row. Being teenagers, they chose the last three seats that faced the back of the vehicle. Meaning, as the car moved along; they could see the streets and the vehicles going further away from them.

The Minish sat in between the two Hylians who both minded their own business and looked away from each other. He could not help but feel guilty about their misunderstanding, as he looked up the sky and filled up his thoughts.

_'My birthday… and this is what happens. How unlucky I prove to be around the people I love!'_

Finally, as the car stopped its tour at the destined mall, they all got out from their seats and let the others who were in wait fill up their seats.

The trio proceeded into the mall and into the nearby branch. The Minish didn't take note of where they headed, but one thing's for sure…

… that wasn't the path that they always take in that mall to go to the public vehicles going home.

They led him in a dark room. The only light that there was came from the doors behind them, but it didn't last long. As soon as they walked farther in the room, the doors shut behind them and then the place became completely dark.

Vaati screamed in fear and surprise.

"POP!" they heard not so far away from them.

"W-what…?"

"SURPRISE!"

Dark turned on the lights with a wide grin on his face, revealing the many people before Link and Vaati, who were in the room's center.

There was a fluffy cake on the table, and there were letters written on it…

… it read, "Happy Birthday, Vaati! From your master and beloved friends~" all in transparent violet icing.

Among the people were Ezlo in Hylian size, with other familiar Minish people that the sage cast a spell on along with him to be Hylian-sized. There was that fanatic young Minish wearing Link's hat, and just with the other people, there was Princess Zelda and her father, the King. Let's not forget, there's also Smith to welcome the confused young sorcerer to his surprise birthday party.

Not to mention, there were also the other Links borne of the Four Sword rushing to them and giving them a strong, friendly _"flying hug"_, which they decided to call a _"glomp"_ instead.

Just like their leader, they were all in casual attire. Blue wore a similar outfit to Green's adorned with some jewelry, a strapped iPod dangling from his neck, and an expensive golden watch; Red wore a jersey with red shorts and a sailor's cap, and Vio wore a purple turtleneck with glasses that sat on his head.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, VAATI!" all of them shouted in unison.

All of them began singing a birthday song surrounding the birthday boy before his cake.

"Blow it, Vaati! Make a wish!" Link called out.

Vaati closed his eyes and blew the candles. As he did, the people clapped their hands and cheered.

"Alright, line up for the cake! Of course, Vaati gets the first and the best slice!" Smith said, holding the cake knife in his hand and a plate in the other.

As they all settled down to their own tables, Dark, Link, and Vaati grouped themselves. As usual, the trio was inseparable. But of course, they connected the adjacent table to theirs so that the other three Links may join them.

"I'm… so…" Vaati hid his face in his hands.

"Hm?" the Links looked at Vaati who happened to sit at the head of the table.

Later, they heard sobs.

"V-Vaati?" Link grew worried.

"Oh, Link… those are called ' tears of happiness'." Dark reached out to the crying Minish and patted his back. "It should be Link that you're thanking, Vaati. He planned the whole thing. I just followed him."

"No, you had the same idea as mine! Actually, Vaati, Dark here helped a lot! He's the brains here!"

"Nope." Dark countered.

"Actually, I can't say for sure… but these two other selves of mine prepared the whole thing together." Red said aloud. "Without the other, none of this would've been possible."

The two Links stopped debating and realized how correct Red's statement was.

"You… you guys never cease to amaze me…" Vaati looked at them with a smiling face and teary eyes. "You never cease to give me all these simple joys in life…"

The two blushed and settled on their seats. Surely enough, just making a friend of theirs extremely happy was enough to calm them down anytime.

"Thank you so much! Thank you so much!"

The birthday celebrant stood up. The other Links thought something unanimously…

… they all gathered in a circle, including Vaati in their group hug, and then…

"On the count of three… one… two… THREE!" shouted Link.

As a result, they did the same sweet group hug and jumped up and down while hugging each other in the circle. They made a very happy laughter among them; an innocent laughter that they have learned to share with each other.

"Oh, Link… my grandson." Smith could just think aloud looking at them from a distance.

"I think I made the right decision letting Vaati stay with you." Ezlo came up to him, holding a drink for Smith and himself.

"Oh, thank you." Smith took the offered drink.

"Now he's found true happiness and belongingness."

"I guess so…"

"Tell me; did you cook all these food in the buffet table?"

"Not really, maybe some of them, but not all. The restaurant provided ample food for all of us, but I just decided to prepare my specialty for your apprentice."

"All of them are good! You should really give cooking lessons to my apprentice sometime! All the food that he prepares… tastes questionable."

"Well… haha, I'll see what I can do."

From their distance, they can see the teen spirit within the youngsters with the birthday celebrant having the best time of his life. Now that's true friendship for them.

* * *

**_Author's notes:_**

So it all comes down to the epilogue. This marks the end of this fanfiction "Aftermath", but it won't necessarily mean the end of our heroes' story. Thank you very much for reading the whole thing; I hope you had fun reading!


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